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GENERAL WARREN, 

IN RELATION TO THE 



FIFTH OF MARCH MASSACRE, 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

BY A LADY OF BOSTON, 

BOSTON: 
JAMES LORING, 132 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1835. 







Eatered accordiug to the act of Congress, in the year 1835, 

BY JAMES LORING, 
la the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massacliusetts. 



<? /T 



?/v^^- 



STORIES 



GENERAL WARREN. 



PREFACE. 



The author of the following little sketch 
has often heard the question asked, " What 
did Gen. Warren do to deserve all that has 
been said about him ?" " Did he do any- 
thing more than fight bravely, and get killed 
on the day of the battle of Bunker Hill ?" 
To answer these questions, and to show, that 
although it was much for him to sacrifice his 
life for his country, yet that was not all he 
did ; that he had toiled nobly for many years 
in her cause, before a drop of blood had been 
shed to accomplish her freedom, has been the 
principal object in writing it. 

For some of the facts, she is indebted to 
those who have before written on the sub- 
ject ; but many of them have never before 



PREFACE. 

been published ; nor does she think any but 
the closing one of his death is very generally 
known. 

Another object has been, to place the lead- 
ing causes of the Revolution in so strong and 
clear a light, and in such simple language, 
that every child may comprehend them as 
soon as he can read. 

It has also been her design so to delineate 
the leading traits of Gen. Warren's character, 
as to show that his patriotism w^as not a sud- 
den start of enthusiasm, but had long been a 
guiding principle of action. 

If the writer has succeeded in deepening in 
any young mind, the impression of the debt 
of gratitude we ow^e the authors of our free 
institutions, or if the following pages should 
lead any one to think and read more on the 
subject, she will feel amply rewarded for all 
the trouble bestowed on them. 



STORIES 



GENERAL WARREN 



As Mary Montague and her mother were 
one morning sitting at work, by a cheerful 
fire, William, a boy about nine years old, ran 
in exclaiming, Oh dear mother ! I'm so tired 
I don't know what to do. 

Mrs. Montague. Why, my son, what has 
tired you so much ? 

William. I have been playing hoop more 
than an hour, and my hands ache so I can 
play no longer. 

Mrs. M. Then you had batter come and 
sit down with Mary and me and rest yourself. 
1 



10 STORIES OF 

William. Yes, mamma, I will, if you can 
lend me some pretty book, or tell me a story ; 
there is no school to-day, you know. 

Mrs. M. I have no book which you have 
not read, nor can I put aside my work to 
amuse you, but I can tell you a story and 
work too. 

William. So do, mamma, I shall like that 
best. 

Mary. And I too, dear mother. 
Mrs. M. What shall I tell you about ? 
Shall I tell you a true story, or do you wish 
me to make up one ? 

William. I should rather hear a true one, 
if you please, about some great man. Some 
American, for I had rather hear about one of 
my own countrymen, than about a foreigner, 
as I think you call those who live in other 
countries, do you not ? 
Mrs. M. Yes, my dear. 
William. You know I have had books 
about a great many of our celebrated men, 
such as Gen. Washington, Gen. Lafayette, and 
Franklin. Now I want you to tell me what 
you can of Gen. Warren. Was he not a great 



GENERAL WARREN. 11 

and good man ? I should think he must have 
been, for I have heard people speak of him 
very often, when talking of the revolution ; I 
know, too, that great monument on Bunker 
Hill is partly for him, but I do not know what 
he did to deserve so much praise. 

Mrs. M. I believe, my dear, there has 
never been any httle books written about him, 
but he was both a great and a good man, 
though he did not live long enough to do so 
much for his country as those other generals 
of whom you have read. If you wish, I will 
tell you all I can of him. 

William. Oh, so do ! I want to hear it 
very much. 

Mary. So do I. 

Mrs. M. You spoke just now, William, 
of Lafayette as though you thought him an 
American. Do you not know he w^as a 
Frenchman ? 

William. Yes, mamma, I know that very 
well, but he did so much for us I can hardly 
help thinking he belonged to us. 

Mrs. M. I do not much wonder at that, 
for he could not have done more, nor even so 



12 STORIES OF 

much, if he had indeed been an American. 
Come, now for General Warren. Shall 1 be- 
gin at the time when he was a child like you, 
or at that in which he became a general ? 

William and Mary, both together. Oh 
pray begin when he was a child like us. 

Mrs. M. I cannot tell you a great deal 
about him at that time. I only know that he 
was born in Roxbury, in the year 1741. Rox- 
bury is a small town a few miles from Boston. 
I have no doubt you often ride by the old 
house in which Joseph (for that was the name 
of the general) and his three brothers were 
born. It has now almost fallen to pieces, but 
it was once a beautiful place, and had a great 
many fine fruit trees round it. The father of 
Joseph was quite a rich farmer ; he raised the 
best fruit of any one near Boston. Do you 
remember seeing last winter an apple with a 
fine blush on one side, called the Warren rus- 
seting ? 

William. Yes, mother, I think I do. 

Mrs. M. Joseph's father was the first 
person who cultivated this apple, and it re- 
ceived its name from him : but alas ! it cost 
him and his family very dear. 



GENERAL WARREN. 13 

William. How, mamma ? 

Mrs. M. I will tell you. One day, in 
the fall of the year, when almost all the ap- 
ples were gathered, Mr. Warren, the father of 
Joseph, while walking round his orchard to 
see if every thing in it was in good order, as 
he was looking over the trees he perceived 
one apple on the top of his favorite tree, the 
Warren russeting ; it looked so beautiful, with 
the sun gilding its rosy side, that he deter- 
mined to get it. He Vv^as a very active man ; 
so up he climbed until his hand was on the 
apple, when, just as he had pulled it off, the 
branch on which he w^as standing, gave way, 
he fell to the ground and was instantly killed ! 

William. Oh dear, how long did he lay 
there, mamma ? 

Mrs. M. Not long ; some of his work- 
men, who were near, heard the noise of the 
fall, and directly went to see what it was. 

His youngest son, whose name was John, 
was then only four years old : dinner was 
ready at home, and the mother of little John 
told him to run into the orchard, and see why 
his father did not come in to dinner : away he 
1^ 



14 STORIES OF 

went, and, as he was looking eagerly to see if 
his father was coming, he saw two men carry- 
ing something between them : he ran up to 
them to see what it was, and, only think of it 1 
it was the body of that dear father whose 
affectionate embrace he was expecting every 
moment to meet 1 Those eyes, which had so 
often beamed on him with love, were closed 
in death, and the arms, so often held out to 
embrace him, hung motionless at his side 1 

Mary. Oh, how I pity the poor boy, he 
must have felt dreadfully ! 

Mrs. M. Dreadfully indeed ! When he 
grew up to be a man I often heard him say, that, 
young as he then was, the feelings of that mo- 
ment could never be effaced from his mind. 

William. I should think he never could 
have forgotten it. 

Mrs. M. I have now told you about the 
father of Joseph ; shall I tell you any thing 
about his mother, or go on about him ? 

William. If you please, I should like to 
hear about his mother. I always feel more 
interested in any one, when I am acquainted 
with his father and mother. 



GENERAL WARREN. 15 

Mary. And I too love dearly to hear about 
them, especially 1 want to know all I can of 
the mother of any one I hear of, or read 
about. 

Mrs. M. I will tell you all I can of her. 
Like Washington, Joseph was blessed with a 
most excellent mother ; she, too, was like the 
mother of Washington, left a widow when 
even the oldest of her sons most required a 
parent's care. Her husband, you recollect, 
was killed when the youngest boy was only 
four years old. The eldest was about twelve 
years older. The task of a parent, though a 
delightful, is a very arduous one, and when 
that of both parents must be discharged by 
one, it is much more so. It often happens 
that a mother is left with a family of young 
children, and is obliged to bring them up with- 
out the controlling power of a father's care ; it 
is therefore the duty of every female so to 
educate her own mind, and that of her daugh- 
ters, as to enable her, if she should be placed 
in this responsible situation, to be able to guide 
aright the minds of those under her care. In- 
deed, a mother should always possess a culti- 



16 STORIES OF 

vated mind, and a firm principle of action, to 
render her capable of doing such a duty faith- 
fully. The bent which she gives to the dawn- 
ing character is seldom effaced through the 
whole existence of an immortal being. I hope, 
therefore, my children, more especially you, 
my daughter, will constantly remember, that 
unless you attend most carefully to the forma- 
tion of your own hearts and minds, you will 
never be competent to form those of others, 
and that you are in some measure responsible 
for the good or evil of the characters it may 
be your lot to form. I trust, too, you will feel 
that much of the good you may yourselves 
possess is owing to your parents, who have, as 
far as they could, guarded you from evil, and 
led you in the right path, and to whom, there- 
fore, you owe obedience and gratitude, and an 
earnest endeavor to show, by your conduct, 
that their labor has not been in vain. Most 
faithfully did the mother of Joseph discharge 
the double duty which had now devolved on 
her. Her four boys, under her watchful eye, 
grew up to be good, wise, and, most of them, 
celebrated men, and richly repaid all her care 



GENERAL WARREN. 17 

of them. But not only as a mother was she 
estimated, for she practised the virtue of be- 
nevolence, in the fullest sense of the word. 
To her neighbors she was kind and hospitable ; 
to the poor her house was always open. In- 
deed, it might with truth be said of her, in the 
words of that beautiful poet, Goldsmith, whose 
works I trust you will soon learn to read and 
admire : 

" Her house was known to all the vagrant train, 
She chid their wanderings, but reliev'd their pain. 
The long remeinber'd beggar was lier guest, 
And o(t the traveller at her board found rest. 
Gentle their merits or their faults to scan, 
Her pity gave e'er charity began." 

In her old age, when her own children had 
left her fire-side to take their part in the active 
scenes of life, it was one of her dearest plea- 
sures to gather a group of their children, and 
the children of others around her. She did 
all in her power to promote their enjoyment, 
and her benevolent smile was always ready to 
enliven and encouras^e them. On Thankso^iv- 
ing day she depended on having all her chil- 
dren and grand-children with her; and until 
she was eighty years of age, she herself made 



18 STORIES OF 

the pies with which her table was loaded ! 
Not satisfied with feasting them to their hearts' 
content, while they were with her, she always 
had some nice great pies for them to take 
home with them. 

Mary. What a fine old lady she must have 
been ! How I should have admired to have 
gone to see her! 

Mrs. M. She was indeed a most excel- 
lent woman. As far as one imperfect being 
can judge of another, she appeared to deserve 
to be classed among those whom Christ, in his 
sermon on the Mount, pronounced blessed. 
She was often called to mourn, and she was 
comforted by his word ; she was " meek" and 
" humble," for, much as she did for others, 
she thought she did nothing worthy to be 
mentioned. Truly did she appear to hunger 
and thirst after righteousness. That she was 
" merciful," I have already told you. She was 
" pure in heart," as an infant. As a " peace- 
maker," she was more especially known. If 
there was any dispute among her friends, rela- 
tions, neighbors, or acquaintances, to her they 
carried their troubles and their complaints. 



GENERAL WARREN. 19 

Even their evil feelings towards others were 
not concealed from her. She soctlied their 
troubles, pacified their complaints, and their 
evil feelings and jealousies she changed into 
kindness and good will. If she was reviled 
she reviled not again, and though her good 
w^as often evil spoken of, it did not make her 
weary in well doing. Those who knew her, 
trust she is now reaping the reward promised 
to those that " faint not," and are not weary 
in w^ell doing. 

Mary. I think she must now be happy, 
dear mother, or no one can expect to be. 

Mrs. M. We have every reason to be- 
lieve that she is, my dear girl. 

Now let us go back to Joseph. He was 
her eldest son. He was educated at the pub- 
lic school in Roxbury. Like Washington, he 
displayed in childhood the qualities which af- 
terwards rendered him so celebrated as a man. 
He was manly, generous, fearless and inde- 
pendent. If one boy oppressed another, he 
would always take the part of the weakest, 
and generally succeeded in making the little 
tyrant ashamed of himself. 



20 STORIES OF 

William. Did not all the boys like him, 
mamma ? I am sure I should have liked him. 

Mrs. M. Yes, my dear, all the good boys 
liked him, and, what was still better, the mas- 
ters all liked him. You may be pretty sure 
that a boy or girl either is deserving of love, 
if their instructers are attached to them. His 
mind was so well regulated, that, although he 
would not submit to tyranny, he was respect- 
ful and obedient to those who had a right to 
govern him. And this was his rule of con- 
duct through his after life. At the age of 
fourteen, Joseph entered college. Here the 
same good feelings which had marked his 
character at school, continued to govern him. 
His manners were gentle, and he had the re- 
putation of possessing fine talents, great perse- 
verance, and an entire fearlessness of danger, 
when accomplishing that which he thought to 
be right. 

One day some of his classmates had deter- 
mined to do something of which they knew 
he would not approve. They met together 
to arrange their plans for its execution. They 
did not wish Warren to be with them, for they 



GENERAL WARREN. ai 

knew his powers of persuasion were so great 
that he w^ould, if present, prevail on the great- 
est part of them not to enter into these plans. 
They therefore fastened the door of the 
room, in which they were, so that he could 
not get it open. But he did not give up the 
matter so easily. They were assembled in 
an upper room ; and finding he could not 
get in at the door, Warren went down into 
the college yard. As he looked up he saw 
their window was open. Now how do you 
think he managed ? 

William. I am sure I cannot tell, mam- 
ma. Did he climb up to it? 

Mrs. M. No, he eould not do that, it was 
very high, and there was not any thing to 
climb upon. He could see nothing near the 
window but an old spout, which went from 
the ground to the eaves, or top, of the house ; 
this spout was so rotten it would hardly bear 
a touch, much less the whole weight of any 
one. 

Mary. He could not get in on that then. 
Do make haste, dear mother, and tell us if he 
did get in, and how he contrived to. 
2 



22 STORIES OF 

Mrs. M. I will, my child, as soon as I can. 
He again went up stairs to the scuttle door, 
which was on the top of the house ; out of 
this he got, slid down the slanting roof to the 
edge of the house, just where the old spout 
came up to it ; he then seized hold of this 
spout, swung himself upon it, and slid down 
as far as the window of the room, where his 
classmates were, then in he sprang among 
them, to their great surprise, as you may well 
suppose. The instant he let go the decayed 
thing on which he had descended, it broke to 
pieces and fell to the ground. His compan- 
ions heard the crash, rushed to the window, 
and while they were uttering exclamations of 
astonishment at the risk he had run, and con- 
gratulating him on his narrow escape, he very 
coolly replied, "it has stayed up just long 
enough to serve my purpose," he then directly 
entered upon the business which had brought 
them together. 

William. What a brave fellow he was. 
How glad I am it did not break while he was 
on it ! 

Mary. I hardly breathed for fear it would. 



GENERAT. WARREN. 23 

I hope be succeeded In preventing those young 
men from doing what they had intended. 

Miis. M. 1 hope so too, and I think it 
probable he did. After such a proof of his 
determination and perseverance, they must 
have felt it was useless to oppose him. 

A gentleman who saw him at the moment 
he was coming from the top of the house, on 
the spout, related the fact, in the college yard, 
fifty years afterwards, pointing, at the same 
time, to the very spot on which he saw him. 
It had made so deep an impression on him, 
that, even at that distance of time, he could 
not speak of it without emotion. 

William. Oh how 1 wish I could see the 
place. Do you think, mamma, any body 
could show it to me now ? 

Mrs. M. I do not know, my dear, if any 
one is now living who knows exactly the place. 
I mean to inquire when I have an opportu- 
nity, for I should like to see it myself. 

Mary. So do mamma. 

Mrs. M. At the end of his collesiate ed- 
ucation, Joseph quitted college with the es- 
teem and love of all who had known him there. 



24 STORIES OF 

He then determined to study medicine. I 
suppose you know he was a physician before 
he became a generaL 

William. No, indeed, I did not : if I have 
heard it, I did not think enough about it to 
remember it. Was he the celebrated Dr. 
Warren of whom 1 have so often heard ? 

Mrs. M. Do you mean the Dr. Warren 
now hving ? 

William. Oh no, mamma, I know it was 
not him, though I have heard a great deal 
about him too ; the one I mean died a great 
while before I was born. 

Mrs. M. The one you are thinking of was 
the youngest brother of the general, — his name 
was John, — he whom I told you was the first 
one of the family who saw his father when he 
was killed by the fall from the tree. Do you 
not remember it ? 

WiLliam. Yes, dear mother, I am sure I 
shall not forget him. 

Mrs. M. Joseph was an eminent physi- 
cian as well as his brother. He began to 
practice in Boston. Soon after he commenced 
business the small pox spread all over the city, 



GENERAL WARREN. 25 

or town ; for it was not then a city. We 
hardly know any thing of this dreadful disease 
now-a-days ; inocidation has made it a very 
different one from what it then was. At that 
time people had not much faith in this mode 
of lessening its violence, and when it once en- 
tered a place, a great many people generally 
had it and died with it. This was the case at 
the period of which I speak. Dr. Joseph 
Warren was then only twenty-three years old, 
but he managed the disease with so much 
judgment and skill that he restored more peo- 
ple, who were attacked with it, than any other 
physician in Boston. 

William. How did the other doctors like 
that, dear mother ? 

Mrs. ]\J. They w^ere all very glad he was 
so successful ; and liked him the better for it. 
His manners were so gentle and courteous, they 
could not feel jealous of him. He always 
looked so pleasant, and was so benevolent, 
that every body loved him. The hearts he 
w^on at this time always remained warmly at- 
tached to him. His great talents, and the 
superiority of his information secured the re- 
2* 



26 STORIES OF 

spect as well as love of those who knew him. 
This was the reason he had so much influence 
over others. His talents alone would not have 
given it to him ; but when to respect was add- 
ed admiration and love, it gave him power to 
guide his countrymen almost as he pleased. 

When the King of England yielded to the 
counsels of those who told him that, as we 
were his subjects, he had a right to make us 
pay him vv^iatever money he chose to demand, 
whether we chose to pay it or not, General, 
then Dr. Warren, was one of the first to tell 
the people that the king had no right to make 
us pay one single copper without our consent ; 
that he had not a right even to say what we 
ought to pay, but ought to allow us to choose 
our own rulers, and let them decide what our 
taxes should be. 

Mary. What are taxes, dear mother? 

Mrs. M. Taxes are monies paid for the 
support of those who govern us. You know 
that every city and town makes choice of men 
whom they can trust, to meet together to say 
what and how much these taxes shall be. 
Now it was not possible that we should send 



GENERAL WARREN. 27 

men every year to England, to meet with the 
rulers there, to agree on what we ought to 
pay, and, unless we did, we should be taxed 
unjustly. Therefore the only way to be taxed 
fairly, was to choose people ourselves to tax 
us. The king would neither let us say what 
we ought to pay, nor would he let us say w^ho 
should govern us. He insisted on our suffer- 
ing men whom he sent over, to govern us ; 
and he obliged us to pay them, even though 
they opressed us. 

William. What a shame ! I do not won- 
der our people determined not to submit to it. 

Mrs. M. The people were so much at- 
tached to the king and their mother country, 
as England was always called, that they would 
not have resisted this ; at least not so early 
after their settlement in this country, had the 
king stopped here. But he chose, notwith- 
standing all our remonstrances and petitions, to 
continue to impose taxes without our consent. 
We could hardly buy an article which came 
from England, that we did not have to pay for 
it more than its worth, so that the king might 
have part of the money. As almost every 



28 STORIES OF 

ithlng we consumed was brought from England, 
this tax of course bore very heavy on a young 
country. But still this was not the reason it 
was resisted ; it was because it was unjust to 
impose any taxes on a free people, without 
their consent. Gen. Warren endeavored, with 
all the powers of his vigorous mind, to make 
the people understand their rights. His argu- 
ments, and those of others who thought like 
him, had so far convinced them of the ne- 
cessity of resisting these taxes, that, when a 
cargo of tea arrived at the port of Boston, 
on every pound of which there was a heavy 
duty, a number of people, disguised in Indian 
dresses., entered the vessel in the night which 
contained it, broke open the chests of tea, and 
threw all that was in them, into the water. 
They thus showed that they preferred to have 
their families go without an article which was 
much valued by them, rather than to pay for 
it by yielding, in the slightest -degree, to an 
act that would endanger their liberties. Their 
wives, so far from repining at this deprivation, 
determined, from that moment, not to touch a 
drop of their favorite beverage until they could 
)iave it free from taxes. 



GENERAL WARREN. 29 

Mary. That was right. I am glad they did 
what they could to support those brave men. 

Mrs. M. After this daring act, the king 
determined to make us submit hy force. He 
therefore sent over more soldiers to control us ; 
he had always kept some here ; and he sent 
Gen. Gage to command them, and to be our 
Governor. He also sent ships filled with 
armed men, to occupy our harbour, and to 
prevent any other vessels from coming to our 
assistance. Should you not think that the 
Boston people would now be tempted to give 
up the point ? 

William. Yes, mamma, I should ; for I 
do not see how they could see any prospect 
of gaining it \vith their town and their harbour 
filled with British soldiers. 

Mrs. M. So far from giving it up, they 
only determined more strenuously to endeavor 
to gain it. They would not suffer any of the 
British rulers or judges to meet. They closed 
all the court houses where these men wanted 
to meet, and decided all their disputes and 
difficulties themselves : indeed, they were so 
determined not to need these courts, that the 



30 STORIES OF 

utmost order and regularity reigned among 
them. Sometimes, indeed, the British officers 
or the soldiers which thronged the streets would 
exasperate the people so much, that they col- 
lected in mobs, determined to avenge them- 
selves on them. At such times Gen. Warren 
repeatedly exposed his life in the midst of 
these mobs, to soothe them and restrain them 
from acts of violence. His persuasive elo- 
quence seldom failed to bring them to their 
duty, and to make them ashamed of what they 
were about to do. He would tell them that it 
was a very bad way to show they could govern 
themselves, by committing acts which would 
let every one see they had neither justice nor 
humanity; that w^hile so many good men were 
doing all in their power to free them from 
the oppression of others, it was a great in- 
jury to the cause of freedom for them to 
oppress in their turn ; and thus to take upon 
themselves to both judge and punish others 
without giving those whom they disliked an 
opportunity to defend themselves. At first, 
the men who composed these mobs would try 
to drive him aw^ay, and make a noise to pre- 



GENERAL WARREN. 31 

vent his being heard. While they did this, he 
would stand calmly and look at them. His in- 
trepidity, his commanding and animated coun- 
tenance, and, above all, their knowledge that 
he was in reality on their side, as far as it was 
right to be, would soon make them as eager 
to hear as he was to speak, and, finally, they 
would disperse to their houses, with the most 
perfect confidence that they could not do bet- 
ter than to leave their cause in such hands. 

Although Gen. Warren thus restrained the 
people from revenging the insults of the Brit- 
ish, lie did not escape them hirjself. They 
took every opportunity of calling him a rebel, 
and telling him, as they did all those who 
were on his side, that he would meet the fate 
of a rebel, that of being hung. Yon know there 
is a piece of land which connects Boston to 
Roxbury, called the neck, do you not? 

Mary. Yes, mamma, we often ride over 
it when we go to R — , do we not ? 

Mrs. M. Yes, my dear. Formerly people 
were hung oftener and much more publicly 
than at present. There was, therefore, a gal- 
lows erected on the neck, on which to hang 



32 STORIES OF 

criminals, where every body could see them. 
One day, Dr. Joseph Warren was going over 
to Roxbury, to visit his mother, whom he loved 
very much ; wdien he had gone over a little 
w-ay on the neck he came to a spot where three 
or four British officers were standing together, 
talking, as he passed them, one of them called 
out " Go on, Warren, you will soon come to 
the gallows." They meant he would soon 
come to the gallows on the neck, but it was 
very evident they also meant to insult him, as 
they burst into a loud laugh so soon as it was 
said. Warren was not a man to submit to an 
insult from any one, least of all from them. 
He immediately turned back, walked up to 
them, and calmly requested to know^ which of 
them had thus addressed him. Not one of 
them had the courage to avow his insolence. 
Finding he could obtain no answer, he at last 
left them, ashamed of themselves and of each 
other, but glad to have got off so easily. 

William. What a set of cowards ! I wish 
Gen. Warren could have given them a good 
flogging. 

Mrs. M. It w^ould have been but what 



GENERAL WARREN. 33 

they deserved, to be sure. It usually happens 
that those who are most ready to insult, where 
they think no defence can be made, are the 
greatest cowards when called upon to avow or 
defend what they have done. 

Gen. Warren had so much power over the 
feelings of tliose whom he addressed, that is, 
he was so eloquent, that he was several times 
chosen, by those who v/ere in favor of the 
cause of liberty, to address the people from 
the pulpit, that a great many at a time might 
hear him. 

Do you know any thing about the 5th of 
March massacre, in which the first American 
blood was shed by the British ? 

William. Yes, mamma, we both know 
about it. We have read it in Parley's First 
Book of History. 

Mrs. M. I am glad of it ; that is a most 
excellent little history, and contains a great 
deal you ought to remember. You know, then, 
that for some years after that massacre, on 
every 5th of March there was an oration de- 
livered in the Old South meeting-house, to tell 
every body that one injury after another had 
3 



34 STORIES OF 

been inflicted on us by the British, until the 
common people had become so angry that 
whenever they saw a British soldier they 
wanted to insult him. By the way, I will 
stop here a moment, to tell you of something 
which was done by one of the British officers, 
which wilJ show you that the people of Bos- 
ton had some reason to dislike them. The 
British were very much afraid that guns 
should be procured by the Americans from 
their soldiers, and whenever they knew that 
any American had bought a musket from one 
of their men, they punished him severely. 
Some of the officers, however, were so eager 
to have an excuse for punishing our men, that 
they would tempt them to buy guns, on pur- 
pose to make a difficulty. One in particular, 
a Col. Nesbit, ordered one of his men to offer 
an American, who had come in from the coun- 
try, an old musket, very cheap. The poor 
man, little suspecting any trick, eagerly bought 
it. Col. Nesbit immediately took him up and 
confined him all night in the guard house. 
The next morning he stripped him entirely 
naked, covered him over with warm tar. then 



GENERAL WARREN. 35 

he put feathers over that and placed him on a 
cart and conducted him through Boston streets^ 
quite up to the south end. He was guarded 
by thirty grenadiers, with fixed bayonets ; 
twenty drums and fifes accompanied them,, 
playing the '' Rogues March," and the des- 
picable Nesbit headed the procession with his 
sword drawn. 

William. I think it was a '' rogues march'' 
indeed, dear mother, don't you ? But what 
became of the poor man, did not our people 
rescue him, and do something to that wicked 
Colonel ? 

Mrs. M. When they reached that part of 
Washington street where the liberty tree then 
w^as, the people had become so excited, that 
the cowardly Nesbit w^as glad to let his sol- 
diers disperse, and he and they skulked to their 
barracks as quick as they could. The unfor- 
tunate object of their cruelty was of course- 
liberated and taken care of. 

William. Oh how I wish they had caught 
Col. Nesbit, and tarred and feathered him as 
he had the man ! 

Mks. M. It was much better to let him 



36 STORIES OF 

go. This conduct of his served our cause 
better than any thing he could have done ; and 
it would have been a pity for us to have fol- 
lowed his example, and thus have lessened 
the odium attached to him. 

William. I do not at all wonder, if such 
was the conduct of the British, that our men 
felt angry whenever they met any of them. 

Mrs. M. Nor I. But to return to the 
5th of March Orations. The great subject of 
them was, the oppression of the British, and 
the quarrels which were constantly taking 
place between their soldiers and ours, and 
which it was impossible to avoid, while these 
oppressions w^ere permitted. The orators did 
not then urge the people to throw off the gov- 
ernment of Great Britain, they only explained 
their rights, and called upon them not to give 
them up, but one and all to petition the king 
to take away his soldiers and his governors 
from our country, and permit us to choose ru- 
lers from among ourselves, and to form our own 
soldiers. These petitions were accordingly 
repeatedly sent to the king, but the more we 
petitioned the more soldiers he sent. 



GENERAL WARREN. 37 

Gen. Warren delivered two of these ora- 
tions. The first had so great an effect on the 
people, that they determined to resort to arms 
if their petitions were unsuccessful. Indeed, 
all these orations had such a powerful influ- 
ence on the hearers, that the British officers 
determined there should be no more such. 
They declared it should be as much as a per- 
son's life was worth to attempt again to deliver 
one. Many men who would otherwise have 
been desirous to speak on the anniversary of 
the massacre, now thought it most prudent to 
keep quiet. Though they would have been 
quite willing to fight in defence of their coun- 
try's liberties, yet they thought that to get up 
and speak, surrounded with soldiers and their 
bayonets, who w'ere under the command of 
those who had uttered such threats, would be 
much worse than to face their enemies with 
arms in their hands. 

William. I should think so too. I am 
sure, if I saw men standing before me ready 
to shoot me, or stick their bayonets into me, 
if I said any thing they did not like, I should 
at least have forgotten all I had to say. 
3^ 



38 STORIES OF 

Mrs. M. Gen. Warren did not think so. 
As the next 5th of March approached, after 
these threats had been made, he did not wait to 
be invited to speak on the occasion, but himself 
sohcited permission to address the people. 

All his noble feelings were roused at the 
idea that men from another country should 
presume to say what Americans should speak, 
and wiiat they should not ; and he determined 
that his voice should be once more heard, even 
should it then be silenced forever. 

The sun shone on the 6th of March, 1775,* 
with unusual splendour. Warren saw it rise, 
and as he gazed upon its brilliant rays, he 
thought that perhaps ere those rays were again 
withdrawn from the earth, he might be a 
breathless corpse, never more to behold them, 
but no regret at the duty he had undertaken 
for a moment darkened his mind ; he hailed its 
cheering beams as a proof that Heaven itself 
smiled on his exertions for his country's welfare. 

At an early hour the Old South meeting- 
house w^as crowded even to its porch. Many 



* This Oration was delivered on tlie 6th of March, and not on 
the 5th, being 103 days before his death on BuiiJter Hill. 



GENERAL WARREN. 39 

of the friends of the much loved speaker were 
there, determined, if lie was attacked, he should 
not be without his defenders. 

The aisles of the meeting-house, the steps 
to the pulpit, even the pulpit itself, were oc- 
cupied by the British. Warren was not to be 
frightened from his purpose by all this. He 
thought that if he attempted to go in at the 
door and up the pulpit stairs, the British offi- 
cers might endeavor to stop him, and that, 
even if they did not succeed, the attempt would 
cause so much confusion that no one would 
be calm enough to listen to him afterwards. 
So how do you suppose he contrived to reach 
the pulpit ? 

Mary. I should think he would not have 
attempted it, but would have put off speaking, 
at least, until the pulpit was clear. 

William. I dare say he managed in some 
such way as he did when his classmates un- 
dertook to keep him out of their room. 

Mrs. M. It was not very unlike It. He 
requested some of his friends to assist him, 
and they procured a ladder, put it up outside 
the pulpit window, and while all within were 



40 STORIES OF 

anxiously watching for him at the door, and 
his friends were trembling for fear he would 
not be able to make his way through the crowd, 
they raised their eyes, and, to the astonish- 
ment of them all, beheld him in the pulpit 1 
The British officers were so surprised at his 
coolness and intrepidity, that they involunta- 
rily fell back at his approach. He advanced 
to address the assembled multitude, not know- 
ing but that, at the first word he spoke, a 
bayonet would be thrust into his defenceless 
side. 

Every eye was fixed upon him in almost 
breathless emotion. So awful and perfect 
was the silence that each one could hear the 
palpitations of his own heart. Every face was 
pale but his own. His animated and expres- 
sive countenance was lighted up, and glowing 
w^ith all the enthusiasm that the most ardent 
love for the rights of his country could inspire. 
The officers who stood near to him, so far 
from making his noble spirit tremble or hesi- 
tate, only inspired him with greater animation 
to tell over the wrongs which they had done 
|Lis, and the still greater wrongs they were 



GENERAL WARREN. 41 

about to do. He called upon the soldiers not 
to assist their masters in tills ; not to aid a 
parent to oppress his children and wrest from 
them their hard earned rights. He told them 
that our fathers had come to this country to 
avoid the very tyranny that was now bearing 
so heavily on their children. That they came 
here to worship God in the way they thought 
most acceptable to Him. That they had 
given up their homes, their friends, and all 
the comforts of civilized life, for freedom. 
That they had suffered the greatest hardships 
from savages, from cold, poverty, and the 
want of every thing worth having, except lib- 
erty. He told them that through all the cares 
and all the sufferings of our pilgrim fathers, 
they still looked back on the country from 
which they came with the affection of chil- 
dren. They had obeyed its laws, had sent it 
money, and had done aU tliat was in their power 
to do, to prove that they were deeply inter- 
ested in its welfare. But that now that we, 
the descendants of those who had undergone 
so much, were beginning to enjoy what they 
had purchased so dearly, these Britains were 



42 STORIES OF 

determined to oppress us. That their king, 
who ought to take a pleasure in our prosperity, 
judged us without hearing us, gave us rulers 
who took no interest in our prosperity, and 
insisted that we should pay money for the 
privilege of buying what it was for his interest 
to sell us. It is long since J read this elo- 
quent address, and I cannot give you any cor- 
rect idea of it ; you must read it yourself to 
form one.* 

The scene, while Warren was speaking, 
was sublime and interesting beyond any thing 
of the kind that had ever before been wit- 
nessed in this country, or, perhaps in any 
other. When the orators of ancient times 
were urging their countrymen not to submit 
to tyrants, those tyrants werq, far away — but 
while Warren was making this appeal to his 
countrymen, it was in the presence of the 
very oppressors themselves, who were gazing 
on him with arms in their hands, arms ready 
to be used the moment their passions were 
roused ! That their passions were roused, I 
think there can be little doubt ; but there was 

* This Oration is placed at the end of this vvoxk. 



GENERAL WARREN. 43 

so much determination in the looks of those 
around, that I suppose they were not willing 
to run the risk of attacking a man thus guard- 
ed by the love, almost the adoration of those 
whom he addressed. Besides this, there 
were many among the British who were so 
much affected by Warren's address, as to be 
unwilling to use any violence against the 
speaker. 

If such was its effect on his enemies, what 
must it have been on his friends? It was so 
powerful that, at that moment they might have 
been led on to an entire renunciation of the 
government of Great Britain. The time, how- 
ever, had not yet quite arrived for so bold an 
act ; the country was young and without re- 
sources, or any prospect of aid from other 
countries. Still, from this time, many who 
had not before expressed an opinion, now 
openly declared that we ought to be indepen- 
dent. 

Things had been gradually operating to 
produce an almost universal belief that there 
was little to be expected from the king of En- 
gland. Josiah Quincy, the father of him who 



44 STORIES OF 

is now president of Cambridge College, was a 
warm friend of Gen. Warren's, and had aided 
in all his efforts to repel the encroachments of 
the king. About six months before this ora- 
tion was delivered, he had embarked privately 
for England. From his letters it was evident 
that, although many influential men there were 
in our favor, yet those by whom the king was 
governed were against us, so that there was 
little prospect that any change for the better 
should take place. The general tenor of his 
letters to his countrymen, while he himself 
was in England, was, what he says, he had 
long before told them, that " they must seal 
their cause with their blood, that in the sight 
of God and all just men, that cause is a good 
one," and if Americans do not act up to their 
professions " they would be trodden into the 
vilest vassalage, the scorn, contempt, the spurn 
of their enemies, a bye-word of infamy among 
men." That Americans would " be true to 
themselves," and were ready, when called on, 
*' to seal their cause with their blood," his 
friend Warren was among the most earnest to 
convince him. Ho writes to him, " It is the 



GENERAL WARREN. 45 

united voice of America, to preserve their 
freedom, or lose their hves in its defence." 
" I am convinced," he says, " that the true 
spirit of liberty was never so universally diffu- 
sed through all orders and ranks of people, in 
any country on the face of the globe, as it 
now is through all North America." He says 
of the provincial Congress, of which he had 
been elected president : " Congress met at 
Concord at the time appointed. About two 
hundred and sixty members were present." 
"You would have thought yourself in an as- 
sembly of Spartans, or ancient Romans, had 
you been a witness to the ardour which in- 
spired those who spoke on the important busi- 
ness they were transacting." The Congress 
of which he here speaks was composed of men 
chosen by the people, to provide for the safety 
of their fellow citizens, and to order all that 
was necessary to be done to enable them to 
resist the tyrannical laws of the king of Eng- 
land. The terms in which Gen. Warren speaks 
of this congress, were no doubt very cheering 
to Mr. Quincy, who must himself have ar- 
dently desired to have been present among 
4 



46 ^ STORIES OF 

them. He remained only six months in Eng- 
land, and died on his passage home, just as 
the vessel which he was on board entered the 
harbour of Cape Ann, on the 26th of April, 
1775. 

William. Oh how sorry 1 am ! He must 
have wished very much to have seen his 
countrymen once more. 

Mrs. M. He did indeed. He repeatedly 
said to the seamen, who were attending on 
him, that he had but one desire and one 
prayer, which was, that he might live long 
enough to have one interview with his friend 
Joseph Warren, or with Samuel Adams. His 
prayer was not granted, for wise purposes no 
doubt. Nor did he know that his predictions 
that blood would be shed before liberty could 
be attained, were accomplished, and that his 
countrymen had already, in the battle of Lex- 
ington, sealed their constancy in the cause of 
liberty " with their blood." 

But I must go back a litde to tell you what 
led to that battle. The British had been for 
some time aware that the Americans w^ere de- 
termined to repel their aggressions by arms, 



GE ERAL WARREN. 47 

-^since all other means had failed. They there- 
fore detennmed -to take from us the means of 
defence. They thought if they could get pos- 
session of our powder and balls, we of course 
could not fire our guns or cannon. They re- 
solved to attempt first to gain those which 
were at Concord, a small town about 18 miles 
from Boston. 

On the 18th of March, 1775, Gen. Gage 
despatched, as secretly as possible, eight or 
nine hundred soldiers, under the command of 
a Col. Smith, to destroy all the stores in that 
place, thinking this a safer plan than to try to 
keep them. This they hoped to effect before 
our people had time to make any resistance. 
But the Americans were not so easily taken 
by surprise. Gen. Warren had directed a 
number of men to keep watch on the motions 
of the British, and to let him know when there 
w^as any appearance of an attack upon us. 
These men discovered this plan of theirs, and 
immediately gave Warren information of it. 
He would not do any thing hastily, so he 
went himself to watch them. One evening 
he observed there was an unusual stir in the 



48 STORIES OF 

English camp. Unperceived by them he saw 
Col. Smith and his men embark on board 
some of their vessels, and he had no doubt 
they were going to Charlestown, and from 
thence to Concord. He, the same night, des- 
patched messengers through the neighboring 
country, to give notice of the designed attack. 
He rode himself all night, and passed so near 
the enemy as to be several times in danger of 
becoming their prisoner, but escaped by his 
undaunted courage and self-possession. Col. 
Revere was one of his messengers ; I think 
he was sent to Lexington. He had of course 
to pass through Charlestown. As he was 
turning a corner of one of the streets, he dis- 
covered a party of soldiers approaching, he 
knew them to belong to the enemy ; for a mo- 
ment he hesitated whether to turn back or 
proceed ; but it was only for a moment ; he 
recollected that probably the safety of hun- 
dreds depended on his executing the commis- 
sion entrusted to him, he put his horse into a 
gallop, and, before the astonished men had 
time to ascertain If he was friend or foe, he 
had dashed through them and was nearly 



GENERAL WARREN. 49 

out of sight ! In vain with their halloos and 
their whizzing balls they attempted to stop 
him ; of the halloos he was regardless, and 
from their balls he was preserved by that Be- 
ing who seemed in a most especial manner to 
smile upon our cause. 

William. I am glad they could not stop 
him. I think he was a brave man, do not 
you mamma ? I fear I should have turned 
back when I saw the soldiers coming. 

Mrs. M. He certainly was a very brave 
man, and we had a great many such during 
the Revolution. I trust you would have been 
brave too, had you lived in such times, and 
would not have turned back from the perform- 
ance of a duty, because it w^as dangerous to 
execute it. Revere executed his so faithfully, 
that when the British arrived at Lexington, 
which is six miles this side of Concord, they 
were met by a body of our militia, who en- 
deavored to keep them from advancing. It 
was now about sunrise. Warren, although he 
had had no rest that night, hastened to the field 
of action, determined to be ready to aid and 
4^ 



50 STORIES OF 

animate his countrymen, and to share e very- 
danger to which they were exposed. 

The small number of men which had time 
to assemble were not, however, able to make 
much opposition to the veteran soldiers of 
Great Britain. When the officers of these 
men cried out, " Disperse, you rebels, dis- 
perse, throw down your arms and disperse," 
many left the field. As they were doing so, 
some of the enemy fired on them ; this brought 
on an engagement, in which eight of our men 
were killed and seven wounded. The British 
pursued their march to Concord, and de- 
stroyed sixty barrels of flour, and other stores 
deposited there. Our men had now collected 
in greater numbers, and opposed them so re- 
solutely as to drive them back to Lexington in 
quick march, and they continued to annoy them 
through the whole of their retreat to Charles- 
town : so that, before they arrived there, 
they had lost many men. Some were wound- 
ed, some taken prisoners, and otliers slain. 
Gen. Warren, from his ardor in pressing on 
ihem was near be'n.,^ killed. A musket-ball 
came so close to him as to take off a lock of 



GENERAL WARREN. 51 

his hair which curled close to his head, as was 
the fashion of the time. You may see how 
his hair was dressed if you look at his picture 
in Faneuil Hall. 

Maky. How could it help wounding him, 
dear mother, when it came so near ? 

Mrs. M. It seems wonderful that it should 
not have wounded him ; but he was spared a 
little longer by that Being, who alone can 
judge what is the proper time in which a val- 
uable life should be taken. 

When his mother first saw him after this 
escape, she entreated him, with tears in her 
eyes, not again to risk a life so dear to her, 
and so necessary to his country. " Wherever 
danger is, dear mother," was his reply, " there 
must your son be, now is no time for one of 
America's children to shrink from the most 
hazardous duty. I will either see my country 
free, or shed my last drop of blood to make 
her so." He was not permitted to see this ; 
but he did indeed shed his life's blood, that 
others might be free. That blood was not 
shed in vain. It is probable that his death 
did nearly as much to animate his country- 



52 STORIES OF 

men in the cause of liberty, as he himself could 
have done had he lived. 

After the battle of Lexington, there was an 
exchange of prisoners made. The British 
agreed to release those they had taken, in ex- 
change for those taken by the Americans. 
The place appointed for this exchange to be 
made was Charlestown, the town so soon after 
destroyed by some of the very men now met 
for purposes of kindness and good will. Gen. 
Warren, as President of Congress, and the 
brave Gen. Putnam, (under whom Warren 
had previously served as a volunteer in a 
skirmish on one of the islands, in which 
the English had been defeated, and one 
of their vessels burnt,) were escorted by 
two of the finest companies of the Massachu- 
setts soldiers, to the place of meeting. The 
scene was interesting a,nd impressive. Al- 
thoudi there had been difficulties among the 
English soldiers and our people, and with 
some of the officers also, yet most of the offi- 
cers, on both sides, had been cordial to each 
other ; some had been intimate friends. They 
had, previous to the difficulties between the 



GENERAL WARREN. 53 

two countries, served under the same com- 
manders, fought the same battles, glowed with 
united hopes of victory, or felt disheartened 
together when they failed in their undertak- 
ings. These feelings could not be altogether 
repressed, and when they now first met, after 
having been arrayed against each other, — met 
too, to exchange offices of kindness and hospi- 
tality, w^ith the sacred flag of truce waving 
over their heads, every sentiment but that of 
friendship w^as forgotten, and they rushed into 
each others' arms, overcome with feelings too 
powerful for expression. These feelings quick- 
ly spread around, and each hardy soldier was 
ready to extend the hand of amity to the 
other. 

After the business on which they met w^as 
over, Putnam and Warren entertained the Brit- 
ish as their guests, with all the hospitality the 
times w^ould permit. 

A few days after this meeting, Warren was 
appointed Major-General of the American for- 
ces in Massachusetts. The people had for 
some time looked up to him as their leader ; 
and he had made constant exertions to main- 



54 STORIES OF 

tain order and enforce discipline among the 
troop?. He united so much coolness with so 
much true courage,, and so much gentleness 
with so much decision, as to give him immense 
influence over them. He mingled in the 
ranks, talked with each soldier as if he was a 
brother, and thus succeeded most astonishingly 
in imparting to them his own ardour in the 
cause, and his confidence In its success. Be- 
fore he was chosen as their General, he was 
requested to act as Surgeon-General to the 
army, but this post did not suit his heroic 
character. His wish was to lead on the sol- 
diers to battle, rather than to take care of those 
w^ho were unable to go, or of those who re- 
ceived w^ounds while there. 

The charge he had now received of the 
army, he would not suffer in any degree to 
interfere with that he before sustained as Pres- 
ident of Congress. He had from the first 
discovered as much talent in directing the 
counsels of the nation, as he had energy in 
animating the soldiers. Part of each day he 
w^ould pass in Congress, which was now as- 
sembled at Watertown, deliberately weighing 



GENERAL WARREN. 55 

each subject that was discussed. He gave no 
opinion until fully conv^inced what was best to 
be done. When his opinion was formed, he 
bent every power of his mind and body, to 
have that which was resolved upon put into 
execution. When he had accomplished all 
he could in the Congress, he v/ould jump on 
his horse, ride as quickly as possible to the 
camp at Cambridge, and enter with equal 
ardor into every thing to be done there. 

It was on the 14th of June, that Joseph 
Warren was elected Major-General of the 
Massachusetts forces. 

The British had four thousand v.ell disci- 
plined soldiers in Boston at this time, under 
the command of Gen. Gage. Now I dare 
say you know that four thousand men used to 
fighting, and commanded by a general whom 
they know they must obey, are more power- 
ful than double that number who are not used 
to w^arfare, and who are not obliged to fight 
unless they choose. 

William. Yes, mamma, I should think 
they must be : but were not our men at all 



56 STORIES OF 

used to fighting ? and were they not willing to 
fight ? 

Mrs. M. They had never been engaged 
in a regular battle, and, although most of them 
were very willing to fight, yet they were much 
more easily intimidated than regular soldiers. 
This gave the British a great advantage over 
them ; besides this, many of our people did 
not like to be thought rebels, which the Brit- 
ish took every opportunity to convince them 
they were. They did not feel quite sure that 
they did right to fight against their king, as 
they had always considered the king of Eng- 
land to be, and they knew, too, that if we 
were unsuccessful, they should be hung as 
rebels. 

But for all this there were a great many 
willing to risk every thing In the cause of 
liberty ; and so eager were these for an en- 
gagement, that it was extremely difficult to 
restrain them until they had acquired a httle 
more military knowledge. 

The British were also anxious to do some- 
thing. They had, to be sure, the command of 
Boston, but all the hills around were guarded 



GENERAL WARREN. 57 

by us, and they felt rather foolish in suffering 
themselves to be cooped up there, and not 
have the power to leave it, without risking a 
battle. They finally determined to make a 
bold push, and obtain possession of the highest 
parts of Charlestown and Dorchester, and thus 
give themselves a little more liberty to go in 
and out of the town. 

The ISth of June, 1775, was the day on 
which they had determined to make this at- 
tempt. 

The Americans, however, gave them some- 
thing to do a little sooner than this. They 
had contemplated making some attack on the 
British, or at least to endeavor to destroy their 
shipping. Gen. Warren, ardent and enter- 
prising as he was, was not in favor of this 
plan. He thought it would be hazarding too 
much to begin warfare again in our situation ; 
that if it was once begun, it would lead to a 
general engagement, in which our untrained 
men would not be able to maintain their 
ground ; and he thought if beaten now they 
might be entirely discouraged. Gen. Putnam, 
who at that time commanded the troops in 
5 



58 STORIES OF 

Cambridge, was of a different opinion. He 
said they need only take two thousand men, 
nor would he risk any more. Gen. Warren 
walked back and forth the room in which they 
were debating several tiaies, he then leaned 
on a chair, and, after a few moments silence, 
exclaimed, " almost thou persuadest me. Gen. 
Putnam, still I must think the project rash, 
but if you execute it, you will not be surprised 
to find me at your side." " 1 hope you will 
not be there," said Putnam, " you are young, 
and your country has much to hope from you, 
both in their councils and in the field of battle ; 
let us, who are old and can be better spared 
begin the affray, there will be time enough for 
you hereafter ; it will not soon be over." 

The more this step was deliberated upon, 
the more difficulties seemed to arise, and Gen. 
Warren felt it his duty again to oppose it be- 
fore the committee of safety, of which he was 
chairman, and before the council of war, assem- 
bled on purpose to decide upon it. When, after 
much discussion, both these ^bodies resolved 
on its execution, he gave up his own opinion 
and joined with his whole heart to promote 



GENERAL WARREN. 59 

its success. It was finally voted by the com- 
mittee, on tlie 1 5th of June, that Dorchester 
heights and Bunker hill should be occupied 
and fortified by our troops. The intelligence 
now received, that the British were themselves 
preparing to leave their entrenchments to take 
possession of these heights, no doubt decided 
this measure. The soldiers, you recollect, 
were encamped in Cambridge. They were 
quartered, or stationed, in the colleges and in 
all the houses for a mile or two about ; wher- 
ever they could find shelter, there they were 
placed. 

On the 16th of June, Col. Prescott w^as 
ordered to take a part of the men, stationed 
in Cambridge, about one thousand, march 
with them to Charlestown, and fortify Bunker 
Hill. Accordingly, in the evening they be- 
gan their march as secretly as possible. It 
was very important they should get there 
without the knowledge of the British, for they 
had to go so near their lines, that it would 
have been perfectly in their power to prevent 
tlie success of their undertaking, had they 
known it. They took scarcely any refresh- 



60 STORIES OF 

ments, nothing which was not absolutely ne- 
cessary. Their first object was to take pos- 
session of Bunker Hill, their own comforts 
were but a secondary consideration ; when 
they had succeeded in that, then would be 
time enough, they thought, to think of them- 
selves and to have provisions and other neces- 
saries sent them. To insure secrecy, the 
soldiers were not informed of the object of 
their march, until they had crossed Charles- 
town neck. The plan was so well arranged 
and so well executed, that the British had not 
the slightest suspicion of it, until the rising 
sun, as it dispelled the mists of the morning, 
shone on their fortifications and revealed to 
the astonished gaze of the bewildered British, 
their daring enemy immediately above them, 
overlooking their camp, and entrenched in 
strong forts which seemed as if created by 
enchantment ; so quietly and so suddenly had 
they been erected ! Those who first beheld 
the alarming spectacle rubbed their eyes, 
thinking themselves in a dream, but, soon 
finding it was reality, they awoke their coun- 
trymen and immediately began firing on our 



GENERAL WARREN. 61 

men, almost expecting, even then, to find the 
fortifications vanish fi'om before them. They 
killed one of our noble fellows, and these men 
who had done and dared so bravely the night 
preceding, were so appalled at the unusual 
sight of death, in so sudden a manner, that 
some of them quitted the works on which they 
had labored so hard, and returned no more to 
defend them. 

This can hardly be wondered at. They 
had been up all night, had had no refresh- 
ment, from sleep or food, not even a drop of 
water to wet their parched lips. It is, there- 
fore, more surprising that any of them should 
be able to make a stand against the expe- 
rienced soldiers of Great Britain, than that 
some should fall back. 

William. Yes, mamma, I think it was 
more surprising. I should have thought they 
w^ould have had no strength or resolution to 
do any thing. Why did they not have some 
men from Cambridge to aid them ? some who 
had not worked so hard would surely have 
been better able to fight. 

Mrs. iVJ. Perhaps they would ; but those 
5* 



62 STORIES OF 

who had gained the post of danger with so 
much toil and through so much peril, were 
determined to maintain it as long as they were 
able to stand by it: besides there had yet been 
no time for reinforcements to arrive. 

William. Was Gen. Warren with them 
when they first went to Bunker Hill ? 

Mrs. M. No, my dear, Congress met at 
Watertown the day preceding that eventful 
night. Gen. Warren was, you know, presi- 
dent of it ; he was therefore obliged to be 
present when it met. He had been all day 
engaged with its members, discussing the most 
important business, and even the night was far 
spent before they had finished the necessary 
arrangements for the momentous crisis which 
had now arrived. The moment he could 
leave his friends there, he prepared to go im- 
mediately to the field of battle. These friends 
endeavored, with all the arguments they could 
use, to dissuade him from going. They told 
him that it was impossible for the troops there 
to maintain their ground ; that they neither 
had a sufficient supply of powder and balls, 
nor of arms, and the probability was that all 



GENERAL WARREN. 63 

who persisted in fighting would be either killed 
or taken prisoners. One of them, in parti- 
cular, entreated him, most earnestly, not to 
expose his invaluable life where his death 
was almost certain, for that thus he would 
injure rather than serve his country's cause. 
" I cannot help it," he replied, " I must share 
the fate of my countrymen." "To hear the 
sound of the cannon and remain inactive, is 
what I cannot do." '^ 1 should die to be at 
home, while my fellow citizens are shedding 
their blood for me." " As sure as you go, you 
will be slain," rephed his friend. "It is sweet, 
it is honourable, to die for our country," was 
the last reply of the patriotic hero. By day- 
lidit of the next morninsr he was in Cam- 
bridge. The British had not made their 
appearance, and, sick with a nervous head- 
ache from his excessive exertions of mind and 
body, Warren threw himself on a bed, hoping 
for a few moments' repose. He was soon 
informed that the enemy were in motion. 
Their destination was at first uncertain. Many 
thought they intended to seize the scanty stock 
of ammunition and other stores, deposited 



64 STORIES OF 

at Watertown and Cambridge. It was all this 
part of the country contained ; all on which 
the army here depended, to enable them to 
make any resistance against the well-furnished 
troops of Great Britain. If these were taken 
or destroyed, the struggle for liberty would, 
for a time, perhaps /orei;e?', be at an end. 

On the other hand, the troops at Bunker 
Hill were very much exposed, and required 
immediate reinforcements. These considera- 
tions prevented the committee of safety from 
acting with so much decision, as they would 
otherwise have done. This committee w^as 
now sitting in the same house in which Gen. 
Warren had been seeking a little repose. The 
moment he received information that the Brit- 
ish were on the move, he started from his bed, 
exclaiming, " my headache is gone." He 
then met with the committee, of which he was 
chairman. With his usual quickness of per- 
ception he saw that Bunker Hill was the spot 
destined to be attacked, and so soon as it was 
resolved to send reinforcements there, he 
mounted his horse, and, with his fusil and 
sword hastened to the post of danger. When 
he had arrived at Bunker, or Breed's Hill (for 



GENERAL WARREN. 65 

they bad not yet been able to fortify Bunker 
Hill,) the enemy iiad landed at Charlestown, 
and thus made it clear that their intentions 
were to attack our forts.* Five thousand ex- 
perienced British troops were already landed 
and prepared, under the command of Gen. 
Howe, to encounter our men. They had 
been through no fatigue, had plenty of arms, 
ammunition, and every thing necessary to ren- 
der success almost certain. The Americans, 
on the contrary, were much exhausted, their 
arms were poor, their ammunition scanty, and 
no reinforcements of any importance had ar- 
rived. But, as I before mentioned, our men 
did not wish for aid, they wanted themselves 
to defend the forts they had themselves so ably 
constructed, and they were about to fight for 
their liberties, their homes, and every thing 
most dear to them. They were determined, 
too, to show the hired troops of Great Britain 
of what men were capable who had deter- 
mined to die free, rather than to live under 
the tyranny of a foreign power. With such 
feelings, tliey did not hesitate a moment to 

* At the brittle of Lexington, the British had Imt 4000 men in 
Boston. Before the battle of Bunker Hill, they had been rein- 
forced. 



66 STORIES OF 

face the enemy, and it was necessary to re- 
press their ardor, so eager were they to begin. 

William. But, mamma, was it not on 
Bunker Hill the battle was fought ? for you 
said just now it was Breed's Hill, and that 
they had not been able to fortify Bunker Hill. 
I thought they fortified that at first. 

Mrs. M. No, my dear, they did not. 
They were directed to do it, but they found 
it would not answer so well, as it was too far 
from the enemy for them to reach her fleet 
and shipping from it with their balls. They 
therefore fortified Breed's Hill in preference. 

Mary. Why then, mamma, was the bat- 
tle called the battle of Bunker Hill ? 

Mrs. M. Because Bunker Hill was the 
only one which was distinguished by a name 
at that time ; it was the one, too, which they 
had intended to occupy, and the battle was 
fought so near it that it was then designated 
by that name, which it has ever since retained, 
and it would be hardly worth while to alter 
it now. 

William. No, mamma, I sh.ould think 
not. I should not like to have the name 



GENERAL WARREN. 67 

changed, for ever since I can remember, I 
have heard about the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and the death of Gen. Warren on it, and I 
should not know what it meant if 1 now heard 
of the battle of Breed's Hill, and I do not 
think I should think at all of him when it was 
thus spoken of. But I have interrupted you 
at the most interesting part. Gen. Warren, I 
think you said, had joined the Americans just 
as the battle was beginning. 

j\Irs. J\l. Yes, he had ; the firing had al- 
ready commenced. Among our commanders 
the only contention was, who should be fore- 
most at the post of danger. Each was desir- 
ous himself to be placed where there was the 
greatest risk, and, therefore, the greatest honor. 
So soon as Gen. Warren reached the field of 
battle, he sought out Gen. Putnam, to request 
him to point out to him where he should find 
the most arduous service. As Putnam saw 
him approach, he exclaimed, " Gen. Warren, 
I am sorry to see you here : I wish you had 
left the day to us, as I advised you. From 
appearances we shall have a sharp time of it, 
but since you are here, I will receive your 



68 STORIES OF 

commands with pleasure." Warren replied, 
" I come as a volunteer, I know nothing of 
your arrangements, and will not interfere with 
them ; only tell me where I can be most 
useful, and there I will go." Putnam, still 
earnest, if possible, to preserve him from dan- 
ger, directed him to a particular spot, observing 
at the same time, '' there you will be cover- 
ed." But this was not what Warren wanted. 
" Do not think," he earnestly exclaimed, "I 
come here to seek a place of safety, tell me 
where the onset will be most furious, it is 
there I wish to be." Putnam then told him 
that the post he had pointed out was a most 
important one. That it was the first wish of 
the enemy to drive our soldiers from it ; that 
Col. Prescott was there, determined to defend 
it as long as possible, for upon retaining it de- 
pended the fate of the battle. He added, 
that the probability was, the British would at 
last gain possession of it, but when it could be 
defended no longer, it would require great 
coolness and skill to bring off as many of our 
soldiers as possible, and retreat with order 
and regularity. Warren assented to the truth 



GENERAL WARREN. 69 

of this, said he would be governed by his 
opinions, and instantly went to the redoubt or 
post that was to be defended. 

So soon as the soldiers saw hinri, they wel- 
comed him with loud huzzas. Col. Prescott, 
as Putnam had before, asked him to take the 
command ; he again refused it, and offered 
his services as a volunteer, saying, "I am 
happy to learn service from a soldier of expe- 
rience." 

The battle now commenced most seriously. 
Our soldiers had, as yet, no time to fortify 
Bunker Hill, though, if they were beat back 
from their fort, it was of the utmost impor- 
tance this should be done ; nor had they been 
able to complete their other works as they 
wished. It was too late now, for the enemy 
were already firing on them, unfinished as they 
were. All that could be accomplished, before 
the firing began, was for part of the soldiers to 
take post behind a rail fence, about two hun- 
dred and fifty yards in length, w^hich they 
slightly fortified by placing another fence at a 
little distance from the first, and filling the 
space between the two with new mown hay. 
6 



70 STORIES OP 

So soon as the tremendous discharge of can- 
non from the British began, her troops ad- 
vanced to attack those stationed at the redoubt 
and at this fence. Our men were eager in- 
stantly to return the fire, but were not per- 
mitted to, until the enemy were within eight 
rods of them. Powder, Putman told them, 
must not be wasted. " Do not fire until com- 
manded. You must not fire until you see 
the whites of the eyes of your enemy, then 
fire low, take aim at their waistbands. You 
are all marksmen, and can kill a squirrel at 
the distance of a hundred yards ; reserve your 
fire and the enemy are all destroyed. Aim 
at the handsome coats ; pick off the command- 
ers." Such were the orders of many of the 
American officers besides Putnam, as they 
rode through the lines of the different divisions 
which were stationed at the fence, and at the 
redoubt. The redoubt was 150 yards in front 
of the rail fence. As you may suppose, these 
instructions came home to the men, and en- 
couraged and animated them, and gave them 
more confidence in themselves than any thing 
else that could have been said. Some few, 



GENERAL WARREN. 71 

in their eagerness to fire, did not wait the 
word of command, Putnam drew his sword 
and declared he would himself cut down the 
first who should disobey. Gen. Warren was 
among the most active, cheering the men by 
his words and actions ; he mingled in their 
ranks, shared all their dangers, and with his 
musket stood ready to aid them in firing, the 
moment the enemy were near enough to ren- 
der it prudent to fire. That moment had 
come. The British had approached within 
eight rods of the redoubt. The command was 
given, they fired, and nearly the whole front 
rank of the advancing army was destroyed. 
Another line, and still another, presented itself, 
and each was in turn levelled with tlie ground. 
For a short time there was a pause. The 
British were retreating. Putnam seized the 
moment to bring up some reinforcements from 
Bunker Hill. Howe, the British commander, 
meanwhile brought his troops once more into 
order, and was joined by some others from 
Boston, under the command of Major Small. 
Again the firing commenced. Our men were 
obliged to wait until the British were still 



72 STORIES OF 

nearer than the first. Not until they were 
within six rods were they now allowed to dis- 
charge their muskets. When they did, it was 
with still more deadly effect than before. The 
flames of Charlestown, to which the British 
had set fire, urged them on, and rank after 
rank of officers and men fell before them. 
The enemy could no longer stand their ground ; 
they retreated once more, and left the field to 
our brave men. At this moment. Gen. Put- 
nam saw one British officer standing alone, all 
around him had fallen. Many muskets were 
levelled at him ; in a moment he would have 
shared the fate of his companions. At this 
eventful moment, Putnam perceived that it was 
an old friend and fellow soldier who was about 
to be destroyed : he rushed to the spot, knocked 
away the deadly weapons with his sword, and 
entreated the men to spare one whom he loved 
like a brother. They could not resist the 
appeal ; the noble and daring generosity of 
the General excited their admiration and sym- 
pathy. His friend was permitted to retire 
unhurt. 

Every thing now seemed to promise sue- 



GENERAL WARREN. 73 

cess to the cause of liberty. The field was 
our own. More than a thousand of the ene- 
my had fallen, and a great number of then- 
best officers were slain by our marksmen. But 
alas ! at the very moment in which every thing 
seemed to smile upon our noble defenders, 
these defenders found the greatest reason to 
despair. So soon as they had leisure to look 
around them, they discovered that their am- 
munition was expended, their arms almost 
useless, and scarcely any thing to defend them- 
selves from a renewed attack of the enemy, 
but the stones which partly formed their fort. 
Their only hope was, that as the loss of the 
British had been so great, they would not 
again make the hazardous attempt to drive 
them from their entrenchments. In this, their 
last hope, they were fatally disappointed. 
Some of the British officers were unwilling to 
lead their men again to an attack, where cer- 
tain death seemed to await them, but the 
greater part of them were determined not to 
yield the victory to rebels, as they still called 
us. They collected all their strength, and 
once more advanced to the charge, resolved 
6* 



74 STORIES OF 

to take the redoubt which Gen. Putnam had 
pointed out to Gen. Warren as our most 
important point of defence, or perish in the 
attempt. 

Ev^ery effort was made by our brave officers 
and soldiers to preserve this much contested 
spot ; but the httle ammunition they had been 
able to collect was soon exhausted. Even 
this little had not the effect their former dis- 
charges had. The British had learnt wisdom 
from experience, they approached with more 
caution, and kept their forces much closer 
together than before. When no more ammu- 
nition could be procured by our officers, stones 
were resorted to, as the last means of defence. 
This rather encouraged than repelled the 
enemy, as it showed they had nothing else to 
use. At last, in spite of every exertion it 
was in the power of men to make, who felt 
they were fighting for their country and their 
homes, the British gained possession of the 
redoubt. They were opposed at every step 
of their advance ; the butt ends of the guns 
which the Americans could no longer fire, 
were made use of to keep them back ; nothing 



GENERAL WARREN. 75 

was left undone. But it was all In vain. As 
fast as one party was beaten off, another would 
approach. All that our officers had now to do, 
was to endeavor to retreat with the men who 
yet remained, with as little loss as possible. 
This was done with the same bravery and skill 
they had displayed through the whole bat- 
tle. Gen. Warren was the last to quit his 
post. He animated the men to the most des- 
perate actions. With his own sword he cut 
down all who were around him. Every inch 
of ground which they relinquished, he consid- 
ered as an indelible disgrace. To give up all 
they had toiled so hard to gain, to see the 
oppressors of his country in possession of a 
spot strewed with the bodies, and wet with 
the blood of those who had fought so nobly in 
her defence, was more than Warren could 
support. He felt that the liberties of that 
country had received their death blow, and 
life was now of no value to him. He slowly 
followed his countrymen, when he found they 
must yield, and disdained to quicken his steps, 
although the balls of the enemy were whizzing 
around him. There were some among his 



76 STORIES OF 

gallant opponents who would gladly have pre- 
served his life, had it been in their power ; 
among these was Major Small, the same offi- 
cer who had been rescued by Putnam from a 
similar fate. He perceived Gen. Warren thus 
moving slowly on, regardless of, or rather 
seeming to court death. He called upon him 
for God's sake to stop, and take refuge with 
him from certain destruction. Warren turned 
and looked at him, but, too sick at heart to 
answer him, still kept on his perilous way, in 
full sight of his enemies. Small then ordered 
his men not to fire on him, but it was too late, 
they had seen him, and, before the command 
was heard, had fired. He was only about 
eighty rods from the redoubt he had defended 
so nobly, when the fatal ball reached him, 
passed through his head, and killed him in- 
stantly. 

William. Oh how sorry I am ! Why 
could not Major Small have spoken a little 
quicker, and kept his men from firing, as Put- 
nam did when our men were about to fire on 
him ? 

JVIrs. M. He no doubt did all he could to 



GENERAL WARREN. 77 

preserve him, but a higher power than his 
directed the ball which thus deprived our 
country of one of her most enthusiastic defen- 
ders, and in one of her darkest moments. He 
was taken, too, before his eyes were allowed 
a glimpse of that brilliant light of liberty which 
afterwards shone so brightly upon his country, 
and for whose first rays he had so anxiously 
watched. He fell in the prime of life, a glo- 
rious sacrifice for his beloved country. 

Mary. How old was he, dear mother ? 

Mrs. M. He was only thirty-four years 
of age. 

William. What became of his body, 
mamma ? I hope the British did not have it. 

Mrs. M. His body lay, with a great many 
others, all night on the field of battle. In the 
morning a young man, by the name of Win- 
slow, saw it, and, disfigured as it was, knew 
it ; he went immediately and told Gen. Howe 
that Gen. Warren was among the slain on 
Bunker Hill. Howe would not at first be- 
lieve it. He said it was impossible that the 
President of Congress should have been suf- 
fered to expose himself in such a perilous 



78^ STORIES OF 

encounter. Dr. Jeffries, who was afterwards 
for many years a physician in Boston, and 
whose son now practises here, was then a 
surgeon in the British service. He was at 
this time on the field, dressing the wounded 
among the Enghsh, and those among the 
American prisoners. Howe inquired if he 
knew Warren ; he said he did, and, so soon 
as he saw the body, declared it to be his. 
He told Gen. Howe that Gen. Warren had, 
only five days previous, with his accustomed 
fearlessness of danger, ventured in a small 
canoe to Boston, that he might himself gather 
information of the designs of the enemy ; and 
that he had at the same time urged him (Dr. 
Jeffries) to return with him, and act as sur- 
geon to the Americans. Howe no longer 
doubted that his formidable adversary was 
extended powerless at his feet. Though too 
noble himself not to lament the early fate of 
such a mind, yet he declared that this one vic- 
tim was worth five hundred of their own men, 
in which he was joined by all who heard him. 
In the pocket of Gen. Warren was found a 
prayer book with his name in it, which would 



GENERAL WARREN. 79 

from the first have decided, beyond doubt, 
that it was indeed Gen. Warren who lay there 
among friends and foes ; but it was not seen 
at that time. The probability is, that it was 
plundered from his pocket by some of those 
WTetches who generally remain on the field 
where a battle has been fought, in order to 
get what they can from the dying and the 
dead. 

Mary. How was it known that it had 
been taken from him-, dear mother? 

Mrs. M. Some time after, when the war 
was over, and the British officers and soldiers 
had gone back to England, one of these sol- 
diers showed this book to an English minister, 
w^hose name was Samuel Wilton. This gen- 
tleman knew that a book of this kind, found 
on the body of so eminent a man as Warren, 
would be highly valued by every American, 
and that it would be more especially gratifying 
to his immediate relatives to have such a relic 
of him ; one which showed that when he went 
forth to fight for his country, his trust was not 
in his own arm alone, but that he looked up 
to a higher power for support. Mr. Wilton, 



80 STORIES OF 

therefore, oiFered the man a great price for it, 
who very gladly sold it to him. He then 
sent it to America, and had it put into the 
hands of a minister of Roxbury, the Rev. 
Dr. Gordon — with a request that it might be 
given to his nearest relative. It was accord- 
ingly given to his youngest brother. Dr. John 
Warren, March 15th, 1778. This was about 
three years after Gen. Warren's death. 

Mary. I think it was very kind in that 
English minister to take so much trouble. 
Was not the book almost worn out by the 
man who had it all that time ? 

Mrs. M. No, it was in very good pres- 
ervation. I suppose the man took good care 
of it, thinking he might sometime get a great 
price for it. It is even now a handsome book, 
the binding is as nice as ever. The type is 
so clear, that is, it was so well printed, that 
it can be read with great ease, although 
printed so long ago as the year 1559 ; which 
was but a little more than an hundred years 
after the art of printing was discovered : so 
that it is valuable for its antiquity, as well as 
from having belonged to a departed hero. 



GENERAL WARREN. 81 

William. Where is it now, mamma ? 

Mrs. M. Gen. Warren's nephew, the 
present Dr. John C. Warren, has it. He 
also has the oration which Gen. Warren de- 
hvered on the 5th of March, in the orator's 
own hand-writing. 

William. You have not yet told us, 
mamma, what became of the body of the 
general ? 

Mrs. M. It was buried near where he 
fell, with many other bodies, both English 
and American. Some time after, his friends 
took it up and placed it in a tomb in the 
Tremont burying-ground, and finally the bones 
were removed to the family tomb under St. 
Paul's church. 

William. Would not the British let his 
friends have it to bury at first, dear mother ? 

Mrs. M. I presume they would, had any 
of them demanded it in time : but these 
friends could not ascertain where he was, nor 
did they know for a certainty of his death^ 
until after he was buried. The youngest 
brother, of whom I have spoken so often. Dr. 
John Warren, was at the time of the battle, 
7 



82 STORIES OF 

in full practice, as a physician, in Salem. So 
soon as he heard there was likely to be an en- 
gagement in Charlestown, he armed himself, 
and set out on foot for that place. He went 
on as rapidly as he could, he saw the town 
of Charlestown in flames, and was lighted on 
his way by its burning glare, but could not 
ascertain, for some time, if there had yet been 
any fighting. At last he was informed that 
there had been a severe engagement. His 
impatience to be on the spot, and his anxiety to 
know where his brother Joseph was, became 
now almost insupportable. He had studied 
his profession with that brother, and knew his 
ardent character so well, that he felt confident 
he would be among the combatants ; he felt, 
too, that no danger, no thought for himself, 
would keep him back from the hottest of the 
fray ; he was eager to be with him, to share 
his danger if he could not guard him from it. 
Notwithstanding his impatience, he could learn 
nothing certain about him ; he determined to 
penetrate to the field of battle at all risks. 
As he attempted to pass a sentinel, on his 
way, he was repulsed by him with the point 



GENERAL WARREN. 83 

of a bayonet, which gave him so deep a 
wound, that he carried the scar from it as 
long as he lived. Still he pushed on, and at 
last ascertained that his brother was in the en- 
gagement, and that he was either killed or 
taken prisoner. His character was quite as 
enthusiastic as that of his brother, and he now 
earnestly entreated to be allowed to join the 
army as a volunteer ; to avenge his brother's 
death, or, if he was not killed, to effect his re- 
lease, w^as now his most fervent wish. This 
request was refused. His services were need- 
ed elsewhere. The poor fellows who had 
been wounded in the battle were even now 
suffering from the want of surgical assistance. 
Dr. John Warren, although then only twenty- 
four years of age, had already acted as sur- 
geon at the battle of Lexington. His skill, 
therefore, as a surgeon, was too well known 
to allow Congress to accept his services in 
any other way. With a heart aching at the 
uncertainty attending a beloved brother's fate, 
he had to fulfil the duties of the office as- 
signed him. This post, of hospital surgeon, 
he retained during the rest of the war. 



84 STORIES OF 

His mother was almost distracted with the 
suspense in which she was kept respecting her 
first-born son. Although from the first she had 
said she was sure he would fall a sacrifice to 
the cause he had espoused so warmly, yet 
now she could not believe that such had been 
his fate. It was three days after the battle, 
before certain intelligence w^as obtained of his 
death. When his mother first realized that 
she should see him no more, she was entirely 
overwhelmed with her affliction. He was 
her eldest son ; after the death of her hus- 
band, she had looked to him as her principal 
solace and support. He was all her fondest 
hopes could wish. Honor, respect and love, 
had attended him in every step of his career ; 
and now, just as he had attained to all the 
honors his country could bestow, he was taken 
away, and she had not even the melancholy 
satisfaction of embalming his body with her 
tears. For a time she refused to be com- 
forted ; but ere long, that religion which had 
comforted her in all her former afflictions, ex- 
erted its healing power over her wounded 
spirit, and though she still sorrowed, it was 



GENERAL WARREN. 85 

not without hope. The memory of this much 
loved son was fondly cherished by her to the 
end of her hfe. Every anniversary of his 
death was kept by her as a day of fasting and 
prayer, and her hospitable house was closed 
to all but the poor. 

His eldest and youngest brothers were pres- 
ent when his body was disinterred. So soon 
as the youngest brother, Dr. John Warren, 
saw that it was indeed the body of his re- 
spected preceptor and much loved friend and 
brother, that was thus taken from the recesses 
of the grave to receive the last tribute of affec- 
tion, his emotion was so great as to entirely 
overpower him, he dropped motionless by the 
side of him he so deeply mourned, and it was 
some time before consciousness was restored 
again. 

William. How did his brothers know it 
was his body, mamma ? I should think, if it 
had been buried some time, it would not have 
been possible for them to have been sure it 
was his. 

Mrs. M. They knew his clothes, for he 
■was buried just as he fell ; besides this, he Jiad 
7^ 



86 STORIES OF 

lost a finger nail and wore an artificial tooth, 
so that he was identified beyond doubt. 

His country also deeply mourned his un- 
timely loss. In the official account of the 
battle, drawn up by the Massachusetts Con- 
gress, it is stated ; " Among the dead was Maj. 
Gen. Joseph Warren, a man whose memory 
will be endeared to his countrymen, and to 
the worthy in every part and age of the 
world, as long as valor shall be esteemed 
among mankind." 

Within a year after his death, it was re- 
solved by Congress that there should be a 
monument erected to his memory, " as an 
acknowledgment of his virtues and distin- 
guished services." Congress also resolved, 
that from that time his eldest son should be 
educated at the expense of the United States. 
Two or three years after, it was determined 
that the three younger children should like- 
wise be supported and educated at the public 
expense, until the youngest child should be 
of age. 

Maey. Indeed, mamma, did Gen. War- 
ren have four children ? I did not know he 
•was married- 



GENERAL WARREN. 87 

Mrs. M. Yes, my dear, he left four or- 
phans. His wife, who was a very excellent, 
amiable woman, died three years before his 
death, so that when he was killed, the poor 
children were left without father or mother. 

William. Who took care of them, dear 
mother ? 

Mrs. M. Dr. John Warren took them 
home soon after he himself was married, and 
they lived with him many years. 

Mary. Did the United States support 
them, as was resolved ? 

Mrs. M. Yes. Their uncle. Dr. War- 
ren, was just getting into business in Boston, 
for he left Salem soon after the war com- 
menced ; he was at that time not able to do 
more than support his own family, and unless 
the board of his brother's children had been 
paid, he could not have kept them. The 
eldest son was fitted for, and carried through 
college, but he died a few years after he came 
out. The second son, too, died soon after he 
became of age. The other two children were 
daughters. The eldest married Gen. Arnold 
Welles, of whom you have often heard me 



88 STORIES OF 

speak ; he was a man beloved and respected 
by all who knew him. This eldest daughter 
of Gen. Warren's, was a very beautiful wo- 
man, but she has been dead many years. 
The second daughter, who was also a very 
handsome woman, was twice married. Her 
last husband was Judge Newcombe, of Green- 
field. She has been dead some years, and has 
left one son, Warren Newcombe, who is prac- 
tising law in this State. He is the only im- 
mediate descendant of Gen. Warren. I be- 
lieve, my children, I have now told you all I 
can about our friend Joseph Warren. Are you 
not tired of hearing about him ? 

Mary. Oh, no, dear mother, I am not, I 
wish you could tell us a great deal more. 

William. So do I, mamma. We are 
much obliged to you for telling us so much. 
How long did the war last after Gen. Warren 
was killed ? 

Mrs. M. It lasted about six years, but 
peace was not finally concluded until the year 
1783 ; that was eight years after his death. 
Parley's Geography tells you the time when 
the fighting ceased, and when a treaty of 



GENERAL WARREN. 89 

peace was signed between Great Britain and 
our country. Do you not recollect it. 

William. Yes, mamma, I do now, but I 
cannot remember dates very well. 

Mrs. M. You must scon read larger 
books about the Revolution, and then you 
will remember better. There are a great 
many anecdotes of things which took place 
during the war, which are quite as interesting 
as any books of tales you can find. In the 
Appendix to Dr. Thacher's Journal of the 
Revolution, there are some very interesting 
facts related ; but you ought to read the 
whole book so soon as you are old enough to 
take an interest in it. There are, too, a 
great many other books you ought to read, 
to make you acquainted with the many great 
and good men, w^ho fought and bled in their 
country's cause. It is not possible to know 
how much w^e owe them, and especially how 
much we owe to Gen. Washington, unless we 
read books which enter into all the particulars 
of what w^as done and suffered by them, and 
by him through the whole of the war. 



ORATION, 

BELIVERED IJST BOSTOJY, MARCH 6, 1775, 

BY 

DR. JOSEPH WARREN, 

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE EVENING OF THE 

FIFTH OF BIARCH, 1770; WHEN A NUMBER 

OF CITIZENS WERE KILLED BY A PARTY 

OF BRITISH TROOPS, QUARTERED 

AMONG THEM IN A TIME 

OF PEACE. 



MY EVER HONORED FELLOW CITIZENS, 

It is not without the most, humiliating con- 
viction of my want of ability that I now appear 
before you ; but the sense I have of the obliga- 
tion I am under to obey the calls of my coun- 
try at all times, together with an animating 
recollection of your indulgence, exhibited upon 
SO many occasions, has induced me, once more, 
undeserving as I am, to throw myself upon that 
candor which looks with kindness on the fee- 
blest efforts of an honest mind. 



WARREN'S ORATION. 1^1 

You will not now expect the elegance, the 
learning, the fire, the enrapturing strains of elo- 
quence which charmed you when a Lovell, a 
Church, or a Hancock spake ; but you will 
permit me to say, that with a sincerity, equal to 
theirs, I mourn over my bleeding country : with 
them I weep at her distress, and with them 
deeply resent the many injuries she has received 
from the hands of cruel and unreasonable men. 

That personal freedom is the natural right of 
every man ; and that property, or an exclusive 
right to dispose of what he has honestly ac- 
quired by his own labor, necessarily arises 
therefrom, are truths which common sense has 
placed beyond the reach of contradiction. And 
no man, or body of men can, without being 
guilty of flagrant injustice, claim a right to dis- 
pose of the persons or acquisitions of any other 
man, or body of men, unless it can be proved 
that such a right has arisen from some compact 
between the parties in which it has been ex- 
plicitly and freely granted. 

If I may be indulged in taking a retrospec- 
tive view of the first settlement of our country, 
it will be easy to determine with what degree of 
justice the late Parliament of Great Britain have 
assumed the power of giving away that prop- 



92 ORATION BY 

erty which the Americans have earned by their 
labor. 

Our fathers having nobly resolved never to 
wear the yoke of despotism, and seeing the 
European world, at that time, through indo- 
lence and cowardice, falling a prey to tyranny, 
bravely threw themselves upon the bosom of 
the ocean, determined to find a place in which 
they might enjoy their freedom, or perish in the 
glorious attempt. Approving Heaven beheld 
the favorite ark dancing upon the waves, and 
graciously preserved it until the chosen families 
were brought in safety to these western regions. 
They found the land swarming with savages, 
who threatened death with every kind of tor- 
ture. But savages, and death with torture, 
were far less terrible than slavery : nothing 
was so much the object of their abhorrence as 
a tyrant's power : they knew that it was more 
safe to dwell with man in his most unpolished 
state, than in a country where arbitrary power 
prevails. Even anarchy itself, that bugbear 
held up by the tools of power, (though truly to 
be deprecated) is infinitely less dangerous to 
mankind than arbitrary government. Anarchy 
can be but of short duration ; for when men 
are at liberty to pursue that course which is 



GENERAL WARREN. 93 

most conducive to their own happiness, they 
will soon come into it, and from the rudest 
state of nature, order and good government 
must soon arise. But tyranny, when once es- 
tablished, entails its curses on a nation to the 
latest period of time ; unless some daring 
genius, inspired by Heaven, shall, unappalled 
by danger, bravely form and execute the ardu- 
ous design of restoring liberty and life to his 
enslaved, murdered country. 

The tools of power, in every age, have racked 
their inventions to justify the few in sporting 
with the happiness of the many; and, having 
found their sophistry too weak to hold mankind 
in bondage, have impiously dared to force re- 
ligion, the daughter of the king of heaven, to 
become a prostitute in the service of hell. 
They taught that princes, honored with the 
name of Christian, might bid defiance to the 
founder of their faith, might pillage Pagan 
countries and deluge them with blood, only be- 
cause they boasted themselves to be the disci- 
ples of that teacher who strictly charged his 
followers to do to others as they would that 
others should do unto them. 

This country, having been discovered by an 
English subject, in the year 1620, was (accord- 
8 



94 ORATION BY 

ing to the system which the blind superstition 
of those times supported) deemed the property 
of the crown of England. Our ancestors, when 
they resolved to quit their native soil, obtained 
from king James, a grant of certain lands in 
North America. This they probably did to si- 
lence the cavils of their enemies, for it cannot 
be doubted, but they despised the pretended 
right which he claimed thereto. Certain it is, 
that he might, with equal propriety and justice, 
have made them a grant of ihe planet Jupiter. 
And their subsequent conduct plainly shows 
that they were too well acquainted with hu- 
manity, and the principles of natural equity, to 
suppose that the grant gave them any right to 
take possession ; they, therefore, entered into a 
treaty with the natives, and bought from them 
the lands : nor have I ever yet obtained any 
information that our ancestors ever pleaded, or 
that the natives ever regarded the grant from 
the English crown : the business was trans- 
acted by the parties in the same independent 
manner that it would have been, had neither of 
them ever known or heard of the island of 
Great Britain. 

Having become the honest proprietors of the 
soil, they immediately applied themselves to the 



GENERAL WARREN. 95 

cultivation of it; and they soon beheld the vir- 
gin earth teeming with richest fruits, a ;^rateful 
recompense for their unwearied toil. The 
fields began to wave with ripening harvests, 
and the late barren wilderness was seen to 
blossom like the rose. The savage natives saw 
with wonder the delightful change, and quickly 
formed a scheme to obtain that by fraud or 
force, which nature meant as the reward of in- 
dustry alone. But the illustrious emigrants 
soon convinced the rude invaders, that they 
were not less ready to take the field for battle 
than for labor ; and the insidious foe was driven 
from their borders as often as he ventured to 
disturb them. The crown of England looked 
with indifference on the contest ; our ancestors 
were left alone to combat with the natives. 
Nor is there any reason to believe, that it ever 
was intended by the one party, or expected by 
the other, that the grantor should defend and 
maintain the grantees in the peaceable posses- 
sion of the lands named in the patents. And 
it appears plainly, from the history of those 
times, that neither the prince, nor the people 
of Enjrland, thouorht themselves much inter- 
ested in the matter. They had not then any 
idea of a thousandth part of those advantages 



96 ORATION BY 

which they since have, and we are most heart- 
ily willing they should continue to reap from us. 
But when, at an infinite expense of toil and 
blood, this widely extended continent had been 
cultivated and defended : when the hardy ad- 
venturers justly expected that they and their 
descendants should peaceably have enjoyed the 
harvest of those fields which they had sown, 
and the fruit of those vineyards which they had 
planted ; this country was then thought worthy 
the attention of the British ministry ; and the 
only justifiable and only successful means of 
rendering the Colonies serviceable to Britain 
were adopted. By an intercourse of friendly 
offices, the two countries became so united in 
affection, that they thought not of any distinct 
or separate interests, they found both countries 
flourishing and happy. Britain saw her com- 
merce extended, and her wealth increased ; 
her lands raised to an immense value ; her 
fleets riding triumphant on the ocean ; the ter- 
ror of her arms spreading to every quarter of 
the globe. The Colonist found himself free, 
and thought himself secure ; he dwelt under 
his own vine, and under his own fig-tree, and 
had none to make him afraid : he knew, in- 
deed, that by purchasing the manufactures of 



GENERAL WARREN. 97 

Great Britain, he contributed to its greatness : 
he knew that all the wealth that his labor pro- 
duced centered in Great Britain : but that, far 
from exciting his envy, filled him with the 
highest pleasure ; that thought supported him 
in all his toils. When 'the business of the day 
was past, he solaced himself with the contem- 
plation, or perhaps entertained his listening 
family with the recital of some great, some glo- 
rious transaction which shines conspicuous in 
the history of Britain : or, perhaps, his elevated 
fancy led him to foretell, with a kind of enthu- 
siastic confidence, the glory, power, and dura- 
tion of an empire which should extend from 
one end of the earth to the other : he saw, or 
thought he saw, the British nation risen to a 
pitch of grandeur which cast a veil over the 
Roman glory, and, ravished with the praeview, 
boasted a race of British kings, whose names 
should echo through those realms where Cy- 
rus, Alexander, and the Caesars were unknown ; 
princes for wh*om millions of grateful subjects 
redeemed from slavery and Pagan ignorance, 
should, with thankful tongues, offer ug their 
prayers and praises to that transcendently great 
and beneficent Being, by whom kings reign, 
and princes decree justice. 



98 ORATION BY 

These pleasing connexions might have con- 
tinued ; these delightsome prospects might have 
been every day extended ; and even the reve- 
ries of the most warm imagination might have 
been realized ; but unhappily for us, unhappily 
for Britain, the madness of an avaricious minis- 
ter of state, has drawn a sable curtain over the 
charming scene, and in its stead, has brought 
upon the stage, discord, envy, hatred, and re- 
venge, with civil war close in their rear. 

Some demon, in an evil hour, suggested to a 
short-sighted financier, the hateful project of 
transferring the whole property of the king's 
subjects in America, to his subjects in Britain. 
The claim of the British Parliament to tax the 
Colonies, can never be supported by such a 
TRANSFER ; for the right of the House of Com- 
mons of Great Britain, to originate any tax, or 
grant money, is altogether derived from their 
being elected by the people of Great Britain to 
act for them ; and the people of Great Britain 
cannot confer on their represeiftatives a right 
to give or grant any thing which they them- 
selves Jiave not a right to give or grant person- 
ally. Therefore, it follows, that if the mem- 
bers chosen by the people of Great Britain, to 
represent them in Parliament, have, by virtue 



GENERAL WARREN. 99 

of their being so chosen, any right to give or 
grant American property, or to lay any tax 
upon the lands or persons of the Colonists, it is 
because the lands and people in the Colonies 
are bona fide, owned by, and justly belonging 
to the people of Great Britain. But, (as has 
been before observed,) every man has a right 
to personal freedom, consequently, a right to 
enjoy what is acquired by his own labor. And 
as it is evident that the property in this country 
has been acquired by our own labor, it is the 
duty of the people of Great Britain, to produce 
some compact in which we have explicitly given 
up to them a right to dispose of our persons 
or property. Until this is done, every attempt 
of theirs, or of those whom they have deputed 
to act for them, to give or grant any part of our 
property, is directly repugnant to every princi- 
ple of reason and natural justice. But 1 may 
boldly say, that such a compact never existed, 
no, not even in imagination. Nevertheless, 
the representatives of a nation, long famed for 
justice and the exercise of every noble virtue, 
have been prevailed on to adopt the fatal 
scheme : and although the dreadful consequen- 
ces of this wicked policy have already shaken 
the empire to its centre ; yet still it is persisted 



100 ORATION BY 

in. Regardless of the voice of reason, deaf to 
the prayers and supplications, and unaffected 
with the flowing tears of suffering millions, the 
British ministry still hug the darling idol ; and 
every rolling year affords fresh instances of the 
absurd devotion with which they worship it. 
Alas ! how has the folly, the distraction of the 
British councils, blasted our swelling hopes, 
and spread a gloom over this western hemis- 
phere. 

The hearts of Britons and Americans, which 
lately felt the generous glow of mutual confi- 
dence and love, now burn with jealousy and 
rage. Though, but of yesterday, I recollect 
(deeply affected at the ill boding change) the 
happy hours that past whilst Britain and Amer- 
ica rejoiced in the prosperity and greatness of 
each other, (Heaven grant those halcyon days 
may soon return.) But now the Briton too 
often looks on the American with an envious 
eye, taught to consider his just plea for the en- 
joyment of his earnings, as the effect of pride 
and stubborn opposition to the parent country, 
"Whilst the American beholds the Briton as the 
ruffian, ready first to take away his properly, 
and next, what is still dearer to every virtuous 
man, the liberty of his country. 



GENERAL WARREN. 101 

When the measures of administration had 
disgusted the Colonies to the highest degree, 
and the people of Great Britain had, by artifice 
and falsehood, been irritated against America, 
an army was sent over to enforce submission to 
certain acts of the British Parliament, which 
reason scorned to countenance, and which 
placemen and pensioners were found unable to 
support. 

Martial law and the government of a well 
regulated city, are so entirely different, that it 
has always been considered as improper to 
quarter troops in populous cities : frequent dis- 
putes must necessarily arise between the citizen 
and the soldier, even if no previous animosities 
subsist. And it is further certain, from a con- 
sideration of the nature of mankind, as well as 
from constant experience, that standing armies 
always endanger the liberty of the subject. 
But when the people, on the one part, consid- 
ered the army as sent to enslave them, and the 
army, on the other, were taught to look on the 
people as in a state of rebellion, it was but just 
to fear the most disagreeable consequences. 
Our fears, we have seen, were but too well 
grounded. 

The many injuries offered to the town, I 



102 ORATION BY 

pass over in silence. I cannot now mark out 
the path which led to that unequalled scene of 
horror, the sad remembrance of which, takes 
the full possession of my soul. The sanguin- 
ary theatre again opens itself to view. The 
baleful images of terror crowd around me, and 
discontented ghosts, with hollow groans, ap- 
pear to solemnize the anniversary of the fifth 

OF MARCH. 

Approach we then the melancholy walk of 
death. Hither let me call the gay companion ; 
here let him drop a farewell tear upon that 
body which so late he saw vigorous and warm 
with social mirth ; hither let me lead the ten- 
der mother to weep over her beloved son : 
come, widowed mourner, here satiate thy grief; 
behold thy murdered husband gasping on the 
ground, and to complete the pompous show of 
wretchedness, bring in each hand thy infant 
children to bewail their father's fate : take 
heed, ye orphan babes, lest, whilst your stream- 
ing eyes are fixed upon the ghastly corpse, 
your feet slide on the stones bespattered with 
your father's brains.* Enough ! this tragedy 

* After Mr. Gray had been shot through the body, and had 
fallen dead on the ground, a bayonet was pushed through his 
Rkull ; a part of the bone being broken, his brains fell out upoQ 
the pavement. 



GENERAL WARREN. 103 

need not be heightened by an infant weltering 
in the blood of him that gave it birth. Nature, 
reluctant, shrinks already from the view, and 
the chilled blood rolls slowly backward to its 
fountain. We wildly stare about, and with 
amazement, ask, who spread this ruin round 
us ? What wretch has dared deface the image 
of his God ? Has haughty France, or cruel 
Spain, sent forth her myrmidons? Has the 
grim savage rushed again from the far distant 
wilderness 1 Or does some fiend, fierce from 
the depth of hell, with all the rancorous malice, 
which the apostate damned can feel, twang her 
destructive bow, and hurl her deadly arrows at 
our breast ? No, none of these ; but, how as- 
tonishing ! It is the hand of Britain that in- 
flicts the wound. The arms* of George, our 
rightful king, have been employed to shed that 
blood, when justice, or the honor of his crown, 
had called his subjects to the field. 

But pity, grief, astonishment, with all the 
softer movements of the soul, must now give 
way to stronger passions. Say, fellow citizens, 
what dreadful thought now swells your heaving 
bosoms ; you fly to arms, sharp indig^nation 
flashes from each eye, revenge gnashes her 



104 ORATION BY 

iron teeth, death grins an hideous smile, secure 
to drench his greedy jaws in human gore, whilst 
hovering furies darken all the air. 

But stop, my bold adventurous countrymen, 
stain not your weapons with the blood of Brit- 
ons. Attend to reason's voice, humanity puts 
in her claim, and sues to be again admitted to 
her wonted seat, the bosom of the brave. Re- 
venge is far beneath the noble mind. Many, 
perhaps, compelled to rank among the vile as- 
sassins, do, from their inmost souls, detest the 
barbarous action. The winged death, shot 
from your arms, may chance to pierce some 
breast that bleeds already for your injured 
country. 

The storm subsides ; a solemn pause ensues ; 
you spare, upon condition they depart. They 
go ; they quit your city ; they no more shall 
give offence. Thus closes the important drama. 

And could it have been conceived that we 
again should have seen a British army in our 
land, sent to enforce obedience to acts of Par- 
liament destructive of our liberty. But the 
royal ear, far distant from this western world, 
has been assaulted by the tongue of slander ; 
and villains, traitorous alike to king and coun- 



GENERAL WARREN. 105 

try, have prevailed upon a gracious prince to 
clothe his countenance with wrath, and to erect 
the hostile banner against a people ever affec- 
tionate and loyal to him and his illustrious 
predecessors of the house of Hanover. Our 
streets are again filled with armed men ; our 
harbor is crowded with ships of war ; but these 
cannot intimidate us ; our liberty must be pre- 
served ; it is far dearer than life, we hold it 
even dear as our allegiance ; we must defend 
it against the attacks of friends as well as ene- 
mies ; we cannot suffer even Britons to ravish 
it from us. 

No longer could we reflect, with generous 
pride, on the heroic actions of our American 
forefathers, no longer boast our origin from that 
far famed island, whose warlike sons have so 
often drawn their well tried swords to save her 
from the ravages of tyranny ; could we, but for 
a moment, entertain the thought of giving up 
our liberty. The man who meanly will submit 
to wear a shackle, contemns the noblest gift of 
Heaven, and impiously affronts the God that 
made him free. 

It was a maxim of the Roman people, which 
eminently conduced to the greatness of that 
9 



106 ORATION BY 

state, never to despair of the commonwealth. 
The maxim may prove as salutary to us now, 
as it did to them. Short-sighted mortals see 
not the numerous links of small and great 
events, which form the chain on which the fate 
of kings and nations is suspended. Ease and 
prosperity (though pleasing for a day) have 
often sunk a people into effeminacy and sloth. 
Hardships and dangers (though we forever 
strive to shun them) have frequently called forth 
such virtues, as have commanded the applause 
and reverence of an admiring world. Our 
country loudly calls you to be circumspect, 
vigilant, active, and brave. Perhaps, (all gra- 
cious Heaven avert it) perhaps the power of 
Britain, a nation great in war, by some malig- 
nant influence, may be employed to enslave 
you : but let not even this discourage you. 
Her arms, it is true, have filled the world with 
terror : her troops have reaped the laurels of 
the field : her fleets have rode triumphant on 
the sea — and when, or where, did you, my 
countrymen, depart inglorious from the field of 
fight?* You, too, can show the trophies of 

* The patience with which this people have borne the repeated 
injuries which have been heaped upon them, and their unwil- 
lingness to take any sanguinary measiireg, has, very injudiciously. 



GENERAL WARREN. 107 

your forefather's victories and your own ; can 
name the fortresses and battles you have won ; 
and many of you count the honorable scars or 
wounds received, whilst fighting for your king 
and country. 

Where justice is the standard, Heaven is the 
warrior's shield : but conscious guilt unnerves* 
the arm that lifts the sword against the inno- 
cent. Britain, united with these Colonies by 
commerce and affection, by interest and blood, 
may mock the threats of France and Spain ; 
may be the seat of universal empire. But 
should America, either by force, or those more 

been ascribed to cowardice, by persons both here and in Great 
Britain. I most heartily wish, that an opinion, so erroneous in 
itself, and so fatal in its consequences, might be utterly removed 
before it be too late; and I tiiink, nothing further necessary to 
convince every intelligent man, that the conduct of this people is 
owing to the tender regard which they have for their fellow men, 
and an utter abhorrence to the shedding of human blood, than a 
little attention to their general temper and disposition, discovered 
when they cannot be supposed to be under any apprehension of 
danger to themselves. I will only mention the universal detes- 
tation wfiich they shew to every act of cruelty, by whom and 
upon whomsoever committed •, the mild spirit of their laws; the 
very few crimes to which capital penalties were annexed ; and 
the very great backwardness which both courts and juries dis- 
cover, in condemning persons charged with capital crimes. But 
if any should think this observation not to the purpose, I readily 
appeal to those gentlemen of the army who have been in the 
camp, or in the field, with the Americans. 



108 ORATION BY 

dangerous engines, luxury and corruption, ever 
be brought into a state of vassalage, Britain 
must lose her freedom also. No longer shall 
she sit the empress of the sea : her ships no 
more shall waft her thunders over the wide 
ocean : the wreath shall wither on her temples : 
her weakened arm shall be unable to defend 
her coasts : and she, at last, must bow her 
venerable head to some proud foreigner's des- 
potic rule. 

But if, from past events, we may venture to 
form a judgment of the future, we justly may 
expect that the devices of our enemies will but 
increase the triumphs of our country. I must 
indulge a hope that Britain's liberty, as well as 
ours, will eventually be preserved by the virtue 
of America. 

The attempt of the British Parliament to 
raise a revenue from America, and our denial 
of their right to do it, have excited an almost 
universal inquiry " he rights of mankind in 
general, and of British subjects in particular; 
the necessary result of which must be such a 
liberality of sentiment, and such a jealousy of 
those in power, as will, better than an adaman- 
tine wall, secure us against the future ap- 
proaches of despotism. 



GENERAL WARREN. 109 

The malice of the Boston port bill has been 
defeated in a very coTisiderable degree, by giv- 
ing you an opportunity of deserving, and our 
brethren in tliis and our sister Colonies an op- 
portunity of bestowing, those benefactions which 
have delighted your friends and astonished your 
enemies, not only in America, but in Europe 
also. And what is more valuable still, the 
sympatlietic feelings for a brother in distress, 
and the grateful emotions excited in the breast 
of him who finds relief, must forever endear 
each to the other, and form those indissoluble 
bonds of friendship and affection, on which the 
preservation of our rights so evidently depend. 

The mutilation of our charier, has made 
every other Colony jealous for its own ; for 
this, if once submitted to us, would set on float 
the property and government of every British 
settlement upon the continent. If charters are 
not deemed sacred, how miserably precarious 
is every thing founded upv.. .-bm. 

Even the sending troops to put these acts in 
execution, is not without advantage to us. The 
exactness and beauty of their discipline inspire 
our youth with ardor in the pursuit of military 
knowledge. Charles the Invincible, taught 



110 ORATION BY 

Peter the Great, the art of war. The battle of 
Pultovva convinced Charles of the proficiency 
Peter had made. 

Our country is in danger, but not to be des- 
paired of Our enemies are numerous and 
powerful ; but we have many friends, deter- 
mining to be free, and heaven and earth will 
aid the resolution. On you depend the for- 
tunes of America. You are to decide the im- 
portant question, on which rest the happiness 
and liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy 
of yourselves. The faltering tongue of hoary 
age calls on you to support your country. The 
lisping infant raises its suppliant hands, implor- 
ing defence against the monster, slavery. Your 
fathers look from their celestial seats with smil- 
ing approbation on their sons, who boldly stand 
forth in the cause of virtue ; but sternly frown 
upon the inhuman miscreant, who, to secure 
the loaves and fishes to himself, would breed a 
serpent to destroy his children. 

But, pardon me, my fellow citizens, I know 
you want not zeal or fortitude. You will main- 
tain your riglits or perish in the generous strug- 
gle. However difficult the combat, you never 
will decline it when freedom is the prize. An 



GENERAL WARREN. Ill 

independence on Great Britain is not our aim. 
No, our wish is, that Britain and the Colonies 
may, like the oak and ivy, grow and increase 
in strength together. But whilst the infatuated 
plan of making one part of the empire slaves 
to the other, is persisted in ; the interest and 
safety of Britain, as well as the Colonies, re- 
quire that the wise measures, recommended by 
the honorable the Continental Congress, be 
steadily pursued ; wliereby the unnatural con- 
test between a parent honored, and a child be- 
loved, may probably be brought to such an 
issue, as that the peace and happiness of both 
may be established upon a lasting basis. But 
if these pacific measures are ineffectual, and it 
appears that the only way to safety, is through 
fields of blood, I know you will not turn your 
faces from your foes, but will, undauntedly, 
press forward, until tyranny is trodden under 
foot, and you have fixed your adored goddess 
Liberty, fast by a Brunswick's side, on the 
American throne. 

You, then, who nobly have espoused your 
country's cause, who generously have sacrificed 
wealth and ease ; who have despised the pomp 
and show of tinseled greatness ; refused the 



112 WARREN'S ORATION. 

summons to the festive board ; been deaf to the 
alluring calls of luxury and mirth ; who have 
forsaken the downy pillow to keep your vigils 
by the midnight lamp, for the salvation of your 
invaded country, that you might break the fowl- 
er's snare, and disappoint the vulture of his 
prey ; you then will reap that harvest of re- 
nown which you so justly have deserved. Your 
country shall pay her grateful tribute of ap- 
plause. Even the children of your most invet- 
erate enemies, ashamed to tell from whom they 
sprang, while they in secret, curse their stupid, 
cruel parents, shall join the general voice of 
gratitude to those who broke the fetters which 
their fathers forged. 

Having redeemed your country, and secured 
the blessing to future generations, who, fired 
by your example, shall emulate your virtues, 
and learn from you the heavenly art of making 
millions happy ; with heart-felt joy, with trans- 
ports all your own, you cry, the glorious work 
is done. Then drop the mantle to some young 
Elisha, and take your seats with kindred spirits 
in your native skies. 



H 55- 78 




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